In Defense of Ambition: A Retelling of Moonrise
by war hippy fatigues
Summary: The sequel, which rewrites Moonrise to include a different take on the plot and characters. If this fic doesn't make sense to you, consider reading 'In Defense of Ambition: A Retelling of Midnight', which you can find in my profile.
1. Feathertail gets caught

The sun had dipped below the watery horizon before they had a chance to notice it, and night was upon them. In its place was a full moon, rising to faintly brighten the sky. Here by the coast, it was not quite as cold as a early winter's night in the forest, but it was certainly cold enough to remind them of it. The gentle sloshing of the waves as they rolled into the shore, the cold winds that blew steadily by, it all reminded Feathertail quite strongly of home.

A home that was now living on borrowed time.

Quite unfortunate.

At first, the badger's words had seemed quite obvious. The danger that was prophesied to destroy the forest; why wouldn't it be humans? With their great and terrible machines, who could ever stop them?

But then, the more she thought about it, the more the reality of it started to sink in. The forest, their home, was going to be destroyed, and neither they nor StarClan could do anything about it. Powerless, they would have flee.

Where would they _go_?

Could they manage the trip? The six travelers, being young warriors, had proven capable of traveling long distances, but could the Clans, as large as they were, feed themselves on the way? Could the young, the old, and the sick survive?

If they found a new place to stay, would it be anything like their forest? Would there be a forest, a moor, a marsh, and a river?

Why were they sent to find this badger, countless miles away, to learn of something StarClan already knew? Surely, they could have told them while they were still in the forest all those months ago, saving them precious, precious time. Time they could have used to leave long before any human ever set foot in the forest.

Another thought occurred: did StarClan have any idea of what it was doing?

She shook her head. It wouldn't help them to mistrust the only allies they had in this strange and foreign land. There were questions that needed answering, but they would have to wait.

For now, they only had the task of returning to their Clans, and convincing them to abandon their ancient homes to seek out a new one. Difficult, but not impossible.

Of course, they needed to find their way back first, and there was no telling just how difficult that might end up being.

"Can't sleep?"

Feathertail turned around and saw Brambleclaw limping towards her.

"It's the leg," he explained. "Resting on it is really awkward."

"Did Squirrelpaw ever apologize to you for that?"

"Well, not really... I think it was my fault for getting caught like that, anyway. If I had dodged to the right, they never would have caught me."

"Oh, really now?"

"Yeah..." Brambleclaw shrugged. "It's all water under the bridge anyway, I suppose. Still..."

"Still?"

"It's hard news, isn't it?" His eyes trailed to the ground. "Having to abandon our homes... I thought, after the battle with BloodClan, that we'd never have to consider that as a possibility ever again. Back then, when we had no idea if we could win, nothing scared me more than the thought that we might lose, and be driven from the forest forever. And yet..."

"... here we are, about to be driven from our home, just like Scourge promised," Feathertail finished.

"Well... what do we do?" Brambleclaw said helplessly.

"Right now? We march to rejoin our Clans, or die trying."

"But... if we get back, and we convince them to leave... _then_ what do we do?"

"We follow whatever the 'path of the dying warrior' is, and hope it leads us to a better place. Beyond that, I don't know."

Brambleclaw sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just... I'm scared. Warriors shouldn't be scared, but I'm scared."

"Well, I'm afraid that's a feeling you'll have to live with. There isn't anything that can make it go away except for the disappearance of the threat causing it. Until then, all you can do is try to not let it affect your actions right now."

"Alright. Well, thanks for the advice." Brambleclaw turned to limp back to where he had been trying to sleep, but paused.

"Oh, and one other thing. How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Feathertail asked.

"How do you stay so calm all the time?"

Feathertail frowned. "My brother and I were taught from a young age that you should always be nice to those who hold absolute power over you, if you don't want to be punished. And when those people are your entire Clan..."

"Oh. I see." Brambleclaw stared at the ground again. "My sincerest apologies."

"Don't apologize. You played no part in it. Just remember injustice when you see it, and make sure you aren't the cause of it."

"I will."

He slinked away into the darkness, leaving her thoughts swarming through her mind again. Like flies, they would not stop buzzing around so she could sleep. Flies were such horrible, awful creatures.

* * *

><p>"Hey, wake up!"<p>

That was a voice she didn't want to hear. Not this early in the morning.

"The badger! She's gone missing."

What...?

"So is all her stuff. What's going on here?"

Feathertail grudgingly opened her eyes to see her confused friends (was that being too generous?) looking around the cave. Oddly it enough, all the previous contents it held had disappeared. Janice's papers, the furniture, the lighting fixtures, even Janice herself; all had vanished without a trace. A true mystery.

"Did you see her leave at any point?" Squirrelpaw asked her.

"Janice? No, I didn't see her leave," Feathertail said.

"Well, that complicates matters. There's no way anyone could have moved all that heavy stuff around without us noticing. Hmm."

Squirrelpaw took to pacing around the cave entrance, lost in thought.

"Well, perhaps we'll figure it out at some point in the future," Stormfur said. "Right now, I think the most pressing issue is getting back home."

"We can start by retracing our steps," Tawnypelt said.

"We'll want to stay far away from those beavers, though," Brambleclaw added.

Squirrelpaw suddenly stopped pacing and turned to face the group. "She was a ghost!"

"Who was what?"

"Janice was a ghost!" Squirrelpaw said excitedly. "Don't you see? StarClan wanted to give us a message, so why wouldn't they send a dead person to communicate with us? That would explain how she and her things vanished! It's irrefutable."

"Actually," Crowpaw said, "Everything that happened last night was a bad dream."

"A bad dream," Feathertail said.

"Yes," Crowpaw replied in a unusually quiet tone. "We all must have gotten very tired and imagined that a badger told us that we were going to be chased out by humans. I decided not to believe that and nothing that you say will convince me otherwise."

"And what happens when if we get home and see the forest being torn apart?" Stormfur asked.

"We will go home and we won't see anything like that. That's what's going to happen. It can't happen any other way. It just can't."

"I think you mean 'shouldn't'."

"I don't!"

"It seems we have reached an impasse for this train of thought," Feathertail said. "I think the best thing to do would be to forget it until we arrive at the forest. Then we can find out who was right."

"That seems like a good idea as any," Brambleclaw said.

It was still early in the morning, and the humans had not begun to arrive in earnest. The weary travelers had to occasionally hide behind a tree or a bush to avoid a straggler, but the path to the river they had traveled through was, for the most part, uneventful.

"I think one of the humans might have seen me. He keeps glancing in my direction," Stormfur said.

Squirrelpaw shrugged. "There's nothing we can do about that now. Anyways, we need to decide the best course of action for the path ahead."

"If I may object," Tawnypelt said, "I think there is something we can do. I think we should tell certain clumsy idiots to be careful where they're walking-"

"I am not clumsy!" Stormfur growled, turning to face her head on.

"People, people, this is not the time to be fighting," Brambleclaw said nervously.

"Did somebody say fighting?!" Crowpaw yelled. Not waiting for a response, he took a swipe at Brambleclaw, narrowly missing his nose.

"Calm yourselves!" Squirrelpaw said. "Can't you see that this infighting is only serving to drive us further apart?"

"Of course I can see that! I thought that was the whole point," Tawnypelt said.

"Well, from now on, I forbid you from doing so."

"By what authority do you impose your decrees?" Feathertail asked.

Squirrelpaw rolled her eyes. "I don't have to answer that question."

"Why do you have the position of being able to ignore all questions that question your authority on this matter?"

"It's-"

A sudden movement cut her off as a strong arm grabbed her and hoisted her into the air before she could finish. In a matter of moments, the other cats had been forcibly captured in a similar manner by other humans from all directions.

"You know, we really must be pathetic if we let humans sneak up on us," Stormfur said.

"These ones must know their stuff," Brambleclaw said. "They kept their footsteps subdued, and they made sure we were surrounded before making their move."

"More importantly, where are they taking us?" Feathertail said.

They quickly found out, as they were brought before one of the human's monsters-

"Those aren't monsters," Tawnypelt said. "They aren't even alive."

"Then what are they?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"They're automobiles. Marvels of engineering. Mary told me all about them. This one's a truck."

One of the humans opened the trunk of the truck. They then shoved the cats in the trunk without any regards for their opinions on personal space, and shut the trunk door.

_I can already tell this is going to be a fun day_, Feathertail thought.


	2. I hate road trips

Thinking about it now, it was understandable why the humans chose to ride around in their large, clunky machines. Although they emitted an awful smell, their interiors were soft, warm, and well lit. They also moved very fast. However, it didn't escape Feathertail's mind that the dark and cramped compartment that they were stuck in was probably intended for a different use than transporting living things.

"Gah... I'm going to be sore for weeks..."

"What do they have against us, anyway? We never did anything to those two legged sons of..."

After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Feathertail managed to figure out who was sitting on her foot.

"Tawnypelt? Could you move over a bit?"

"Oh, sorry about that."

"Something's poking me," Brambleclaw muttered.

"Tee hee."

"Very funny, Squirrelpaw."

"The funny part was that it wasn't me that was poking you."

"Oh boy."

"You know what's really funny?" Tawnypelt said. "I think it's funny that we're stuck in a truck because a really stupid person got caught. Don't you all think that's funny?"

"We don't know for sure if it was Stormfur that they saw first," Brambleclaw said.

"Who else could it have been? Look, I'm telling you-"

"It would be wise not to waste our time trying to pin the blame on someone any longer, I think," Feathertail said.

"That's not fair! I never got the chance to blame someone," Crowpaw grumbled.

"I'm sure you'll get the chance later. Now, we should have a plan for what we will do when one of the humans opens up the door."

"Is 'jumping out and running away as fast as we can' a plan?" Stormfur asked. "Because that's what I'm going to do."

"It can be. Shall we vote on it?" Squirrelpaw asked.

A muffled chorus of assent met her words, some of it more enthusiastic than others.

"Excellent! Now all we have to do is wait."

They waited, but the door did not open. The truck, automobile, or whatever it was kept on going throughout the day, sometimes slowing or stopping at certain intervals. The compartment grew colder as time slowly dragged on, unmeasurable in the absence of daylight.

Could this truly be the end of their journey? All that effort to cross what felt like half the world, only to be snatched away at one unlucky instant? Did StarClan foresee it, and plan accordingly?

It was terribly sobering to think about those things, so Feathertail decided to try and take a nap. The constant roaring of the engine and the movement of the vehicle made it difficult to achieve that physical calmness required for rest.

Difficult, but not...

"Hello?"

She blinked. What met her eyes was not the dark interior of some human contraption, but a wet forest floor, much like the one where Oakheart had given her the prophecy in the first place. Suspiciously similar to that forest, in fact.

And in that forest, there was someone calling out for her. Was there a second part to the prophecy?

No, that sounded stupid. If there was another bit to the prophecy, why wouldn't StarClan have mentioned it when they first brought it up?

"Hello? Is anyone out there?"

The voice was much louder this time, coming from somewhere to her right.

"I'm here," Feathertail said.

The sound of frantic footsteps reached her ears as the owner of the voice raced through the undergrowth towards her. She came crashing through the ferns before coming to a screeching halt. Upon seeing Feathertail, she gasped.

"It's you!"

"Yes, it is me," Feathertail said.

The cat who had come running to her reminded Feathertail a lot of herself on the occasions when she bothered to look at her reflection. A silvery gray coat, with long claws and bright blue eyes; all she was missing was dark stripes for them to be identical twins. Odd.

"I'm sorry. I just... Don't you recognize me?" the warrior said helplessly.

"No, I'm afraid I don't. Not unless I had a secret twin sister all this time."

"Feathertail... it's me, your mother."

Now _that_ would explain it.

"Silverstream?"

"So you do remember me!" Silverstream said with delight. She tried to embrace her daughter, but Feathertail warily stepped back before she could reach her.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember you directly; you died before my eyes were open. I only learned about you through second hand sources."

Silverstream frowned. "Still... don't you want to see me? After all this time..." She took another step forward, which Feathertail evenly matched again.

"I'm perfectly okay with talking with you, but I must ask that you respect my boundaries," Feathertail said.

Silverstream flinched, as if she had been hit. "Why... why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Why are you so cold? I just want to spend time with my daughter that I never got the chance to know. Is that too much to ask?"

Feathertail shrugged. "I don't know. It must be the weather."

"That's not what I meant."

Feathertail nodded. "You want to know why I'm keeping my distance from you."

"Yes."

"You want to know why I don't want to talk to you when I should be leaping at the opportunity, having never been given a chance to before this point."

"Yes."

Feathertail began walking around the clearing before speaking again.

"Why did you choose to be with Greystripe?"

"I did it because I loved him."

"You truly loved him?"

"Yes. I still do, with all of my heart."

Feathertail continued pacing before asking another question.

"Did you love your children, Silverstream?"

"Of course I love my children-"

"No. I'm asking, did you love your children while you were still alive?"

"I loved them. They weren't born yet, but I loved them as much as any mother could."

"Did you love them enough to consider what would happen if anyone found out if they were half Clan?"

Silverstream hesitated. "I-"

"Did you love them enough that you acted primarily for their safety, when you decided to visit Greystripe on the day when you gave birth?"

"Oh, Feathertail... can you find it in your heart to forgive a cat whose only crime was loving too much?"

Feathertail closed her eyes. "No."

Silverstream said nothing, but looked at her sadly.

"If you have nothing more to say to me, Silverstream, then our conversation is at an end." Feathertail got up and turned to leave.

"Wait. There is something else I have to say."

Feathertail stopped.

"StarClan has decided that the destiny of you and your companions is to travel through the mountains," Silverstream said.

"Mountains?"

"You'll know them when you see them. They will guide you on your journey home."

A sudden lurching movement brought her out of the dream as the human vehicle came to a screeching halt.

"Ugh, what's that smell?" Brambleclaw muttered.

"It's pig grease," Tawnypelt said. "All the human trucks run on pig grease. They have many stations along the roads where they give pig grease to the trucks, which burn it, and the smoke pushes the trucks forward."

"That must take a lot of pigs."

"Oh, does it ever! That's why they have these great big farms where they raise nothing but pigs. Pigs as far as the eye can see! It would be like the whole world had turned pink."

After a moment, the truck roared to life again and took to the road.

"How far have we gone at this point, do you think?" Stormfur wondered. "Maybe, we'll end up right next to the forest, given the rate at which we're traveling."

"I don't think that will happen," Feathertail said.

"Why?"

"I had this dream, you see..."

* * *

><p>Mark was not a driver by trade. He much preferred to ride shotgun, and to giggle whenever they passed a funny sounding street name. Plus, it allowed him to drink as much as he wanted to without worrying about running over any hitchhikers. This was an especially important consideration on the holidays, where he preferred to be either drunk or hung over at all hours of the day. With Christmas rapidly approaching, it was imperative that he got out of the driver's seat as quickly as possible so he could find a liquor store.<p>

"Watch it, Mark, you nearly clipped that stop sign."

"Oh come on, Danny. Every stop sign in this state could use a good clippin'."

"Anyway, I was checking the description of the ad for the missing cats. We got the wrong ones, Mark."

Mark reached over to turn the radio up. "I'm sorry, Danny, I can't hear you."

_Don't go around tonight..._

"The cats we got, Mark. They're the wrong ones. We won't get paid for turning them in."

_Well it's bound to take your life..._

"Still can't hear you, Danny," Mark said, turning the radio up further.

_There's a bad moon on the rise..._

"You know we can't-SHIT!" Danny lunged for the wheel.

* * *

><p>"And there are three types of human vehicles: mini trucks, trucks, truck-trains, and planes," Tawnypelt said.<p>

"You named four," Squirrelpaw said.

"Four is very similar to three."

"Sure, but I don't see what that has to do with-"

In an instant, their world changed, as a sudden force pressing them into the walls and a horrible sound of groaning and snapping metal told them that something had gone very wrong. The vehicle was briefly forced to the side of the direction it had been traveling in before it ground to a halt. The end result of this was that a hole had been torn in one of the sides of the compartment.

"Do you know anything about why a truck would spontaneously fold in on itself?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"I think I'll know if I go outside and take a look," Tawnypelt said.

Tawnypelt carefully crawled out of the hole, which sported a number of jagged edges, followed by the others. It was dark outside, and quite chilly as well. From the looks of it, another vehicle had plowed into the side of their truck, forcing it off the side of the road. The bits of scattered human blood and organs in the front of the truck suggested that the humans who had taken them were no more. The drivers of the other vehicle had gotten out and were arguing loudly with each other.

"Nasty stuff!" Stormfur said, prodding a bit of bone that had landed near where he was standing.

"No kidding. If that had collided with us just a bit closer to the back, we all could have been killed," Brambleclaw said.

Squirrelpaw laughed. "What's life without a little danger? Not a life at all, I'd say!"

"Forgive me for interrupting, but we should probably be leaving before those other humans see us," Feathertail said.

"But where do we go?"

"There."

In the distance, but not too far, was what she spoke of. A place where the ground rose steadily up in hills blanketed in green pine trees. Beyond there was great slabs of rock; some of it barren, some of it covered in snow. It was so high up that some of the clouds gathered around the rock, shrouding it from their view.

"We have to go _there_?"

"Yes."

"But that's not fair!"

"Yes."


	3. A sign of things to come, part one

The camp was buzzing with conversation soon after Firestar's patrol had returned with news of the human activity by the road.

"A monster left the Thunderpath?!"

"They tore down a tree?!"

"What are we going to do?!"

"The code will save us, the code will save us, the code will save us," Cloudtail muttered, walking steadfastly in a circle.

"Why didn't I get a sign? What are they hiding from me?" Cinderpelt growled, gazing into the sky as if she was expecting a response of some kind.

"What about the children?" Ferncloud wailed. "We're not going to have enough food for the children! Somebody has to think about the children!"

"I'm thinking about the children," Dustpelt said.

"Well, that goes without saying."

"Now, now, the worst thing for us to do is to start panicking," Greystripe said.

"Worse than eating each other?" Shrewpaw asked.

"_Second_ worst."

"Quiet!" Sandstorm yelled. "Firestar has made up his mind of the subject. He will speak with you now."

The talking in the camp died down as Firestar grimly stepped forward onto the Highrock to address them.

"Many of you are, no doubt, wondering about a recent incident that has occurred near the Thunderpath, involving a monster that didn't follow the rules for monsters. And while it pains me to tell you the truth of what happened, it pains me even more to let rumors live and breed lies. So yes, it is true that a two-leg monster went into the forest and tore down a tree."

_Why did he make such a big deal of telling us what we already knew?_ Leafpaw wondered.

"However, there is no reason to be alarmed. Although winter has come, food is plentiful and life in the forest has never been better. What happened today was nothing more than a one time incident. The two-legs would not come here again, for we are guarded by the watchful eyes of StarClan. The tree they cut down was old and weak, anyway. We will not miss it; in fact, we will be stronger because of it. I assure you, everything is fine and everything will be fine. Do I make myself clear?"

A low murmuring of consent responded to him, although the clearing showed many worried and unhappy faces.

"Good. Let us put this incident behind us now, and focus on the future."

Firestar retreated back to his den, whereupon the talking in the camp sprang up again.

"So he's going to bury his head in the sand on this one? That's not like him," Brightheart muttered.

"What else can he do?" Mousefur asked.

"He could increase the number of patrols near the Thunderpath," Ashfur said. "This is something that we should be keeping a closer eye on. There's no way this was an accident."

Leafpaw frowned. "You don't think..."

"It never hurts to be prepared," Thornclaw said.

Firestar reemerged from his den and jumped down to the clearing.

"Leafpaw, I want you to come with me and Cinderpelt on another patrol."

"Where are we going?" Leafpaw asked.

"ShadowClan. I have some important business to discuss with Blackstar, but I don't want him to think we're going to attack. Since you don't know how to fight, he'll know for sure that we have peaceful intentions."

Leafpaw laughed nervously. "Are you sure you and Cinderpelt can't go by yourselves?"

Firestar sighed. "No buts, Leafpaw. You need the experience, so you're going and that's final."

* * *

><p>The journey to the ShadowClan border was uneventful, although the forest now seemed to be more fragile then Leafpaw had ever imagined it could be. For the safety of their home, they would have to pray for StarClan's guidance more than ever.<p>

"Smell any patrols, Leafpaw?" Firestar asked.

Leafpaw wrinkled her nose. "All I can make out is detritus."

"Excellent. Just according to my plan. Let's continue."

They walked through the marshes that made up the core part of ShadowClan's territory with caution. A chilly wind was blowing across the land, and the sun often dipped behind thick clouds, leaving the ground cold, wet, and miserable to walk through. Leafpaw wondered how the people that lived here could stand it.

"I think I hear a patrol over that way," Cinderpelt said, motioning to the side.

Firestar nodded. "We had better hide in the grass, for now."

"But they'll be able to see us in the grass!" Leafpaw said. "It's not nearly tall enough to hide us!"

"Respect your leader, Leafpaw," Cinderpelt said.

Leafpaw reluctantly crouched in the grass, and waited for the patrol to approach. Russetfur, who was leading the patrol, stopped when she was very close to running into them.

"I have to question why there are three Thunderclan warriors trying to hide in the grass," Russetfur said.

_Why does everyone ignore what I have to say?_

Firestar got to his feet. "So, we meet again, Russetfur, for the second time for the first time," he growled, trying his hardest to sound ominous.

"Yes. I know. Now, I think we have a problem here."

"What kind of problem?"

"We are here," Russetfur said, pointing at the ground, "...and the border is all the way back there. I trust you understand the nature of what borders are?"

"You need not concern yourself with trivial border disputes," Firestar said. "I have a desire to speak with Blackstar. That is why I chose the companions I did; Leafpaw knows nothing about fighting. Right, Leafpaw?"

"Uh- you attack the opponent with whatever you have that's sharp?" Leafpaw mumbled.

"See? She's harmless. And Cinderpelt can't fight with her crippled leg. Thus, you have no grounds on which to think that this mission is anything but diplomatic and peaceful."

Firestar turned to whisper to Leafpaw directly. "Are you paying attention? I'm forcing her hand into letting us see Blackstar."

"I think she can hear you, dad."

"Nonsense."

"Actually, your daughter is right. I can hear you," Russetfur said.

"Also nonsense," Firestar said, shaking his head. "Now, will you let us see Blackstar?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"How can you still be thinking about it?! I've proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that my intentions are sincere."

"Just... like... that."

Firestar silently fumed.

"Well, now that I've thought about it, it wouldn't be too much of an issue to let you talk to him," Russetfur said. "Just make to sure to behave yourselves. Blackstar doesn't take too kindly to visitors, especially if he's in a bad mood."

They continued on to the ShadowClan camp, which was noticeably less damp then the surrounding marshes. Leafpaw wondered how much time they spent drying their feet.

"Do I smell newcomers?" Blackstar growled, crawling unmenacingly out of his den.

"ThunderClan visitors," Russetfur said. "They want to talk to you about things and words."

Blackstar turned his eyes to Firestar. "Ah, if it isn't my old 'friend', Firestar. Tell me, what brings you here? What things of dubious distinction require discussion on this day, well before the next Gathering? I trust that it must be important."

Firestar straightened himself up before responding. "Oh, I assure you, Blackstar, it is important. Tell me, on this blustery morning, did you hear of an ash tree that was killed near the Thunderpath by a only currently known of two-leg monster?"

Blackstar's expression became neutral. "I will neither confirm or deny that statement."

"Thank you for confirming that statement."

"Idid not!"

Firestar ignored him. "Next question: have the two-legs been giving any problems lately? Problems that only began to crop up recently?"

"What? No. No problems here. ShadowClan is as strong as ever." Blackstar didn't sound convincing.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't be implying that at all. Nor would I be implying that we were weak, either. ThunderClan is strong, and so are we."

Leafpaw had the sudden mental image of two weasels climbing atop ever thinning piles of rubble, each one trying to claim to be the tallest.

"So, since this doesn't seem to be an issue," Firestar continued, "I trust that you will not be dealing with it in any specific manner?"

"We will not be acknowledging anything of the sort, and we will continue not seeking any special from StarClan at this time. Now, begone from here."

Russetfur nodded. "You heard the boss. Time for you to get going."

And just like that, they were walking back through the watery marshes again.

"That was a productive meeting, if I do say myself," Firestar said.

"Why did you tell our Clan what you did?" Leafpaw asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"You said that the two-leg incident wouldn't be an issue, but your conversation with Blackstar made it seem like, well, an issue."

"There is a key difference there, Leafpaw. It's an issue for Blackstar and his Clan, but not ours."

"I... guess."

"Firestar is a wise and just leader as well as being your father, Leafpaw," Cinderpelt said. "You ought to be giving him more respect."

"Yeah, you're right..."


	4. How not to rock climb

The mountains that had looked so much smaller and climbable that morning had grown into increasingly unfriendly looking lumps of earth and stone as they drew ever nearer to them. What was once a small looking hill was now a steep ridge that went up and up and up, only to give way to great, sheer cliffs that rose to vast heights. Beyond that, there was still more climbing to be done, for the snow capped peaks had been hidden from their view by the approaching foothills and wouldn't be visible for quite a ways.

It made Feathertail wonder just how StarClan expected them to traverse such a treacherous environment. Was it only chosen out of necessity, or was it really destiny? A test of character? A result of really, really bad luck? Or perhaps something more sinister?

There were too many questions, with too many answers. What was more worrying was that was now steadily becoming their daily reality. Surely, there would be somebody to explain all of this, when it was all over...

"Now, what would be the best way of getting up this hill?" Stormfur asked, staring absentmindedly at the cliffs in the distance.

"The way I see it, we have two options," Squirrelpaw said. "There's a trail we could take, which would run an increased risk of encountering other creatures we might be better of avoiding. On the other hand, it would be quicker to take the trail then directly climbing up the hill, and easier on our feet, too."

"In that case, we should avoid the trail," Feathertail said. "It would be safer that way."

"What if safety isn't our primary concern, Feathertail? What if it isn't?!" Squirrelpaw said, taking a stand as if she was making a speech.

"Then it certainly should be. Don't you remember what happened the last time we forgot about safety?"

"A tragic accident."

"I don't know," Brambleclaw said, uneasily leaning on his uninjured leg. "Maybe Feathertail's right on this one."

"Perhaps she is," Squirrelpaw said. "Feathertail, what's your position on the matter?"

Feathertail blinked. "Was that a joke?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Were you joking?"

"AHH!" Crowpaw screamed.

"What is it now?" Stormfur muttered.

"A hawk! A hawk!" Crowpaw ran to a nearby tree and jumped up into the branches.

"What about hawks?"

"Well, you know hawks. They're these big ugly birds that steal kittens sometimes," Brambleclaw said.

"Not _just _kittens!" Crowpaw hissed. "Warriors, apprentices, nursing mothers, elders; they'll kill them all! All of us! Down to the bones, the bones!"

There had to be something wrong with this kid.

Tawnypelt swiveled her head around to search the skies. "I don't see any hawks."

Crowpaw shook his head. "Of course you don't. You never see them until it's too late. Just like Gorsepaw."

"That's not how Gorsepaw died," Brambleclaw said.

"How do you know, man? Where you there?"

"Are you going to come down from that tree, Crowpaw?" Feathertail asked.

Crowpaw gave her a rude gesture.

"Am I going to have to come up there to drag you out? I assure you, it's a situation that neither of us would enjoy."

Crowpaw paused, then reluctantly edged down from the tree, muttering a myriad of curses on her, her family, her Clan, and anything else that could be pinned on her by the imaginary spirits tasked with carrying out such curses.

"Still, if there are any hawks about, we should keep an eye out for them," Tawnypelt said.

"And what are we going to do if we see them? Wave hello to them as they soar by?" Stormfur said.

Tawnypelt angrily scratched at the ground. "Now, you listen here-"

"We should go," Brambleclaw said nervously. "The sun will be setting quicker each day, so we had better make the best use out of the daylight we have."

"I suppose we'll be going up the hill, then?"

Indeed, they found themselves standing before the ridge in no time at all, with the great cliffs looming over their heads. If there was one thing that the outside world was good at, it was making them feel small. Another thing it was good at was making them feel weak, for the way up the hill proved to be treacherous in its own right, as the steep slope was quite taxing on their legs, and the loose ground often slipped away beneath their feet. Perhaps the trail would have been the better option?

Glancing at it from a distance, Feathertail saw a couple of humans walking on it, one of them accompanied by a dog. She was right; if they had taken the trail, they would constantly be running away to hide from the many humans who would be walking there that day. Though their way was was physically demanding, it would at least allow them to be nearer to the cliffs by sunset, and would offer a much lower chance of serious injury.

Still, their progress felt agonizingly slow when they had a clear frame of reference to measure it against. The cliffs in the distance appeared no closer then when they had seen them in the morning, and the sun had already crossed the top of the sky. How long would it take them just to get there, let alone for them to scale those heights? Every day that passed was another day for the humans to tear up more of the forest...

"Can we rest here for a bit?" Brambleclaw asked.

His leg must have been bothering him again. Where was someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal herbs when you needed one?

"Squirrelpaw," Feathertail said.

"You called?" Squirrelpaw said, bouncing over to her.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about medicine? Anything your sister might have mentioned?"

All the energy and enthusiasm vanished from Squirrelpaw's face. "Oh, no. I don't know anything about that kind of stuff."

"Nothing at all?"

"Yes, nothing. That's all there is to it."

Feathertail looked at her suspiciously, but she said nothing more.

After they had rested, they continued their slow march up the hill. The feeble rays of the weakening sun, which had kept them warm enough during the day, were hidden by an incoming wave of grey clouds as the day progressed. With the clouds came strong and cold winds, which whipped at them as they progressed still upwards. And it was far, far too long before they reached the top of the hill.

"Interesting," Stormfur said.

Before them was a winding valley with a river rapidly rushing through the bottom, with many of the slopes covered with exposed, sharp rocks. Ahead were the cliffs they were seeking, connected to the base of the valley by slopes carpeted with hundreds of pine trees, each visually indistinguishable from the other. One lonely human road wound its way through the valley, where the lone car would occasionally pass by in a brief burst of sound. The air seemed much drier here.

"I wonder what StarClan sees in this place," Tawnypelt said.

"Majesty," Brambleclaw whispered.

With darkness quickly approaching, the next order of business was finding somewhere they could safely rest for the night. That place turned out to be under the branches of a spreading pine tree, where the mulch like dirt was comfortable enough to sleep in, but only just so.

"This isn't anything like our dens at home," Crowpaw muttered.

"Good observation," Feathertail said.

* * *

><p>Feathertail awoke to a slight impact with her head. She glanced up and quickly found the answer to what had hit her; snow. The trees and the exposed ground had been covered with a thin layer of the stuff, and more flakes drifted lazily down from the grey sky.<p>

"I suppose we have no choice beyond pressing forward?" Tawnypelt asked, shaking the snow out of her fur.

"Of course!" Squirrelpaw said. "I'll lead the way."

"And where, pray tell, will you be leading us to?" Feathertail said.

"Onwards!"

What she meant by that quickly became apparent, as she took them straight to the cliffs, now white under the fresh snow.

"Hold on," Feathertail said.

"What's there to hold onto?" Squirrelpaw said.

"Do you plan to have us climb those? I don't think-"

"You think, but you don't know until you've tried."

Seeing the cliffs steadily grow into gigantic, steep slabs of slippery rock, Feathertail highly doubted that they would have any chance of scaling them. Maybe a hypothetical animal with many legs and spikes for feet could do it, but not them.

"Right!" Squirrelpaw said. "The first thing to do is to test the slipperiness of this rock."

She jumped to a ledge, and ran her feet over the snow.

"It's not slippery at all! Why, I think we have a good chance at getting up."

"Getting up?" Crowpaw snorted. "You must be insane. I'm looking up, and I see nothing but flat rock. How do you expect to climb that?"

Squirrelpaw looked at him condescendingly. "It's easy. You just have to use the opportunities presented to you by your own body."

"What the f-"

"Language!"

"-does that even mean?"

"Watch."

With agility possessed by only the young, she took a great flying leap to another ledge, landing without any issues.

"Now, are the rest of you coming? There's a path here that would take us further up!" She said, taking glee in her ability to look down at them.

Crowpaw responded by quickly following the path she had taken, eager to prove his imagined superiority over everyone else.

"A spirited decision!" Squirrelpaw said. "Now, who's next?"

Stormfur was next, landing a little closer to the edge then the others. After that was Brambleclaw.

"Are you sure he can make it, with his injured leg?" Feathertail asked.

"I have faith," Squirrelpaw said.

Brambleclaw paused, then took a running jump towards the ledge. He only barely cleared the ledge, wincing at the impact. Tawnypelt followed him, crossing the gap quite convincingly.

Lastly, it was Feathertail's turn.

"Look out! A hawk!" Crowpaw shouted.

Feathertail whipped around to search the skies, but no hawk appeared.

Crowpaw started giggling. "Got you! Oh, the look on your face!"

Stormfur cudgeled him over the head and he stopped laughing.

Jumping the gap was easy enough. The path Squirrelpaw had found, however, proved to be far more treacherous. It was a tiny strip of rock that ran along the side of the cliff, weaving and worming its way around obstacles. Occasionally it would be broken in places, or it would double back on itself at a steep angle. The winds, which had previously been a nuisance, grew stronger and stronger the further they went, howling steadily at their backs and constantly sapping their strength. The snow continued falling faster, forcing them to constantly shake it off. It was truly a miserable place to be.

Tawnypelt shook her head to get a clump of snow off it. "How much longer does this go on for?"

"There's no way of telling," Feathertail said.

"My feet are freezing," Crowpaw whined.

"I wish your mouth would freeze," Brambleclaw said.

"Hmph!"

The cloudy skies once again began to darken, and they once again were tasked with finding a place to rest for the night. On that awful rocky trail, the best they could find was an overhang that protected them only slightly from the elements. And there was not a hint of prey to be found.

"StarClan must have some peculiar designs, if they wanted us to take this route," Stormfur said.

"Oh, definitely. Definitely..."

* * *

><p>The next morning brought bright sunlight to their eyes. Very bright sunlight, as the rays hitting the ground would bounce off the snow to combine with the light already present in the sky. It was still cold, though.<p>

"I don't suppose anyone found something to eat during the night...?" Stormfur asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Oh..."

They continued following the winding trail, which gradually began to leave the cliffs, and merge into the shallower parts of the hills surrounding them. Soon it had vanished altogether, and they were climbing another ridge like the one that was now far below them.

"Say, did anyone hear that?" Tawnypelt asked.

"Hear what?" Brambleclaw said.

"I don't know, it sounded like screaming."

"If a kitten is killed by a falling tree in the forest, and no one was there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Squirrelpaw said.

Feathertail stopped to look at her. "What does _that_ mean?"

Squirrelpaw shrugged. "Nothing, really."

"You know, I've been thinking," Stormfur said. "If all the Clans have to leave the forest-"

"No they don't," Crowpaw muttered.

"-then how would they continue functioning as distinct entities? Wouldn't they have to work together to survive the journey?"

"Perhaps," Brambleclaw said.

"If that's the case, how would they manage to reeducate their members of the reasoning for existing as separate groups?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow you."

"Well, you see-"

A harsh screaming interrupted him, which was much louder this time.

"A hawk!" Crowpaw shouted. "This time, I mean it!"

A brief search of the sky quickly yielded their target; a brown speck that was hurtling toward them.

Brambleclaw gasped. "What do we do?"

"We die!" Crowpaw said.

"Shut up!" Feathertail hissed. "There's a shrub over that way. It shouldn't be able to grab us if we hide there."

They made a run for the bush, a scraggly brown thing devoid of leaves, the hawk gaining on them all the while. Brambleclaw in particular was lagging behind the rest of them.

"Hurry up, or the hawk's going to get you!" Stormfur shouted.

"Actually, if that's true, could you slow down?" Crowpaw said.

Stormfur was proving to be right, as the hawk singled Brambleclaw out and made to dive on him. Seeing that, Feathertail bit into his shoulder and barely managed to jerk him out of the way, feeling the air rush past them as the hawk swooped by.

"Thanks!" Brambleclaw said, breathing harshly.

"Don't thank me yet," Feathertail said. "It's coming around again.

The hawk this time decided to dive for Crowpaw; however, it could not get close enough to him before he reached the bush and hid under the branches. Soon, all of the cats were hiding there, and it had to leave them, disappointed.

"Jeez!" Brambleclaw said. "You weren't kidding about those things, Crowpaw."

"Why would I be joking?" Crowpaw asked.

"I can think of three reasons."


	5. A sign of things to come, part two

Once again, the half moon signified that it was time for the journey to the Moonstone, where Leafpaw hoped to receive an answer to the question constantly plaguing her mind.

That question was, of course, directly pertaining to the actions of the two-legs that had resulted in the another tree by the road being ripped out of the ground. The number of huge, yellow vehicles that tore them down remained by the road, and they could be activated at any time if the two-legs wanted to kill another tree. It was a deeply troubling time to be living in the forest. Hopefully StarClan would have answers for them.

"You know, Cinderpelt," Leafpaw said, "I thought that we could make it a regular habit of ours to leave on time for every meeting, from now on. What do you think about that?"

"I think that's a very dangerous idea, Leafpaw," Cinderpelt said.

"Dangerous?"

"We are all bound by traditions, and one of our traditions, as members of ThunderClan, is that we are always late. To break with tradition is to be subversive, and subversion is something that we do not tolerate. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. And now, we wait."

For a quiet few minutes, they sat and watched the clouds in the sky idly drift by.

"And now, we go."

The air was still quiet and peaceful as they set out for Fourtrees, back then. And, as usual, they were the last to arrive. It would be one of the few things that would stay normal in the coming months.

"There you are!" Mothwing said. "We thought you decided not to show up."

"You thought wrong; grievously wrong, if I do say so myself," Cinderpelt said. "Now, why is Barkface here?"

Barkface normally waited until they passed through WindClan territory to meet up with them, but it seemed that he had decided to come to Fourtrees this time.

"Tallstar has asked that we take an alternate route through his territory, due to safety concerns," Barkface said.

"What kind of safety concerns?" Littlecloud asked.

"I am not allowed to discuss them at this time. Follow me."

Bewildered, Leafpaw walked behind him and the others, wondering about how bad the issue could be if Barkface wasn't allowed to talk about it.

"What do you think he's talking about, Leafpaw?" Mothwing whispered to her.

"It must be something pretty bad," Leafpaw responded. "You didn't hear anything about two-legs, did you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a road by the edge of our borders. And the two-legs there, they brought these great big machines, and they've been tearing down trees."

Mothwing gasped. "They've been what?!"

Leafpaw winced. "Not so loud, please."

"Sorry," Mothwing muttered.

"It's okay. But yes, they have been killing trees since a few days ago."

"That's awful! What have you been doing about it?"

"There's nothing we _can _do about it," Leafpaw said despairingly. "I'm hoping that StarClan will have some answers for me, but... they can be quite stingy sometimes."

Mothwing nodded. "You can say that again."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That's... none of your business. I'm sorry."

Leafpaw sighed. "Do we all have to be keeping secrets from each other?"

"Only as circumstances permit. I promise."

Barkface led them far away from where the road intersected with WindClan territory, keeping them right by the RiverClan border at all times. Had the two-legs struck in their territory as well, despite there being no trees there? Or, Leafpaw realized with a dawning sense of horror, they might have chosen to strike there _because_ there weren't any trees there. Perhaps the damage was much worse than she had thought, since they weren't even allowed to see it from a distance. And if that was true...

"At last!" Mudfur shouted.

Mothermouth was lying before them again, already being lit by the fires of the setting sun. In no time at all, the moon would take its place amongst the night sky, and maybe, just maybe, they might gain a faint understanding of what was going on.

"I'll be honest with you, Leafpaw," Mothwing muttered. "I do not want to go in there again."

"Why not?" Leafpaw said, puzzled.

"It's complicated, but, well... I don't think StarClan wants me there. It's just a feeling I have."

"Then you should ignore that feeling for now. We have a responsibility to seek their knowledge, and to pass it on to our Clans. Especially in these troubled times, we must have guidance for the future."

Mothwing took a deep breath. "You're right. I will do what I must."

With that being settled, they waited for the moon to rise. In what felt like no time at all, night fell upon them and their eyes were graced by silvery rays of moonlight.

"StarClan awaits," Littlecloud said, and walked into the cave.

The journey to the Moonstone was no less ominous than the first time Leafpaw had ventured into Mothermouth. In fact, if anything, it seemed much more grim this time around, for the whispers that they heard on the way down had grown louder and more urgent, which made their incomprehensibility all the more worrying. The darkness, which had merely been mysterious before, now seemed foreboding, brooding, sinister. Seeing the bright Moonstone emerge from the bleak surroundings did little to alleviate her worries.

"Now, it is time for us to meet with our ancestors..." Mudfur began.

Leafpaw and the others stepped forward to press themselves against the Moonstone. After a moment, Leafpaw once again found herself alone in an unfamiliar location; a hollow, surrounded by tall, thick oaks. As far as she was aware, nothing like this place existed in the forest she knew of.

"Where am I?" Leafpaw wondered aloud, gazing about the clearing.

"A place long forgotten, and not especially important," replied a soft, gentle voice.

Leafpaw turned around to find the owner of the voice; a small orange and brown cat whose fur drooped over her eyes, who she had never seen before.

"Who are you?" Leafpaw asked.

"My name is Spottedleaf," the cat said.

"The Spottedleaf?! The best medicine cat ThunderClan ever had?!" Leafpaw said, shocked. "Why, I'm so honored to meet you!"

"Don't be," Spottedleaf said. "The only reason I'm revered is because I died too early to disappoint anyone."

"Huh?"

"But that's not really important. You have questions, right? About what's been happening as of late?"

Leafpaw nodded.

"Well, I will try my best to answer them," Spottedleaf said. "Just be warned: there are some questions that neither I nor any member of StarClan can answer."

"Alright. First, what can you do about the two-leg's destruction of the forest?"

"For now, nothing."

"Nothing?" Leafpaw said. "You couldn't call down a storm to drive them away?"

"No storm could ever stop them."

"Oh..." Leafpaw sighed. "That's disappointing."

"It definitely is."

"But if you can't make them go away, then what are we going to do? Are they going to stop?"

Spottedleaf took a deep breath before answering her.

"3 months ago, Leafpaw, StarClan chose four warriors to set out on a journey (although six left), to learn some fundamental truths of the world. If they return, they will be able to answer your questions far better than I can."

"_If_ they return? Are they safe?!"

"The last I heard of them was that they were safe, but that they were also greatly delayed in returning. Now they are far away, in a place that not even we can see. Hopefully, they can make it back in time."

"In time? What do you mean?"

Spottedleaf sighed. "Many of the higher ups would prefer that the question of what you will do when the time comes should be left to the warriors who we chose, and no one else. That was the way it was prophesied. I disagree with their reasoning. For the sake of loyalty, however, I will not divulge any unnecessary information unless it becomes, in my view, absolutely necessary to do so."

"I don't understand."

"I know. Just know this: if the time comes when all hope appears lost, and the chosen four have still not arrived, I will come to you, and tell you what you have to do. You're Firestar's daughter, and a trusted voice. Hopefully, the others will believe you when you tell them what I will have told you. If it comes to that, of course."

"Alright, Spottedleaf. I still have a couple more questions, though."

"Shoot."

"Where are we, really?"

"SkyClan's former camp," Spottedleaf said.

"And what happened to WindClan's territory?"

"In a moment, you will wake up. The other medicine cats will still be deep within their dreams, so there will be enough time for you to exit the Mothermouth, view the results for yourself, and return, without being noticed."

"Oh-"

In an instant, she was back in the cold stone floor of the cave, without even having a chance to thank her otherworldly guide. Still, it would be a good idea to make the best of Spottedleaf's opportunity, so she quickly began walking out of the cave, taking care not to wake the others.

And she quickly noticed someone was following her.

"Leafpaw?" Mothwing said. "What are you doing?"

Leafpaw turned guiltily to her. "I... uh... weren't you supposed to be dreaming?"

Mothwing frowned. "I was supposed to, yes, but for whatever reason I couldn't fall asleep. And then I saw you leaving. Just what are you up to?"

"A member of StarClan spoke to me," Leafpaw said. "She told me that I should leave, to go look at whatever the two-legs did to WindClan's territory myself."

"Oh. You wouldn't mind if I came with you, then?"

Leafpaw thought about it for a moment. "I guess not. Spottedleaf didn't say anything precluding me from bringing another along."

They quietly crept out of Mothermouth. From there, they continued in the general direction of the road, keeping an eye out for any possible night patrols. In the moonlight, the moor grass seemed silvery, as if it were liquid and about to dissolve into the ground.

"Hold on. That can't be right," Leafpaw said.

"What do you mean?" Mothwing asked.

"The ground, it's... oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no."

Ahead in the distance, the true extent of the two-leg's destruction became clear. The ground itself had been torn up and thrown aside in great mounds of raw dirt. In between those mounds was a black surface, hard and shiny. A new road, a new Thunderpath. It was unfinished, and it pointed straight towards the Fourtrees. If it was to be built, all of the forest would be torn up and thrown aside.

"Oh Mothwing, what are we going to do?!"


	6. I can't believe it's not Christmas!

The snow capped peaks that had once been so far away were now plainly visible from where they were. Those great white masses, rising so high that even trees could not grow there, inspired awe in the traveling cats as they approached them. Awe, and worry. At their altitude, they began experiencing a number of unpleasant symptoms, none of which they understood. The air they breathed became thinner and thinner, forcing them to take deeper and faster breaths just to keep walking. They constantly felt light headed, and constantly felt thirsty, owing to the dry, dry air. When the only water around was frozen, and sapped the heat from their mouths, it left them feeling miserable whenever they wanted something to drink. And the snow was quite thick up in the mountains, so thick and deep that they risked sinking into it whenever they took a step onto untested snow. It was still very cold, and the short days afforded them little sunlight before darkness fell and took the warmth with it. It was always windy, too, with great gusts whipping past their faces, and often blowing snow on them too.

Perhaps the worst thing of all was the complete and total absence of food. If they had been well fed, the other shortcomings may have been tolerable, but on an empty stomach, they were very difficult to endure. However, despite them making sure to check everywhere they went for any sign of a creature they could hunt, there was nothing, nothing at all. It was very bitter to them, for even the coldest winters they had spent with the Clans had the occasional morsel here or there.

Naturally, this constant resentment of their natural ills did not leave them in their best states of mind.

"This is all Stormfur's fault," Tawnypelt said. "If he hadn't got himself caught, then we wouldn't be wading through several feet of snow while starving to death. Oh, no, we'd be all nice and cozy in the woods."

"Blaming each other isn't going to help us now," Brambleclaw said.

"Actually, it does help me," Tawnypelt sniffed.

"I think I would prefer if we would be quiet," Feathertail said.

"Oh, who cares about what _you _prefer?" Crowpaw snarled. "Why does it always have to be about what _you_ think? You know what I think?"

"Shut up, Crowpaw."

"I think that you're a huge bitch, is what! And furthermore-"

Feathertail turned on him in a whirl of claws and teeth. "I said _shut_ _up_."

Crowpaw, intimidated by the sudden show of force, wisely decided to be quiet.

"Aww. Are you sure you couldn't have hit him, too?" Squirrelpaw asked.

Feathertail glared at her.

"Look!" Stormfur said.

Ahead in the distance, over the edge of the slope they were climbing, was a small human village. The buildings there were wooden, covered with snow, and adorned with many small lights of many colors that twinkled brightly in the fading sunlight. Brightest of all was a tall pine tree, almost completely covered in lights and topped with a shining star.

"Woah," Tawnypelt whispered.

"Who knew that humans could make something so pretty?" Brambleclaw said.

"Friends and not friends, I think we just found a place to eat and rest for the night," Squirrelpaw said, in a sort of mock leader-ish way.

"Oh no. Oh hell no, we are not doing this again!" Crowpaw snapped.

"What's that?"

Crowpaw began pacing angrily. "I know exactly how this is going to end! We're going to end up treating trash again! Well, I won't stand for it! It's against the Warrior Code, and you all know it!"

"I'd take it that you'd rather starve?" Brambleclaw said dryly.

"I'm going hunting."

"Tell us if you find anything," Tawnypelt said.

Crowpaw angrily stalked off towards the edge of the town.

"You're not going to stop him?" Brambleclaw asked Feathertail.

"I'm sure we'll be able to find him again," Feathertail said.

* * *

><p>As they approached the village, they had to be wary of the many humans, all bundled up in various hats, coats, and scarves, who flooded the streets going about their various businesses. It seemed they did not feel the cold as badly as the warriors did, for many of them were located up on slopes close by that had been cleared of trees, where they slid down on strange things they strapped to their feet. For what reasons they did this, Feathertail could only guess.<p>

As for food, there was not a whiff of prey to be found, as they expected. Fortunately, the humans, in their wastefulness, left plenty of it scattered on the ground and in their various trash bins. It was good for them that they left so much of the stuff lying around... but then again, if the humans hadn't been destroying their home, they would never have had to come to the mountains in the first place.

The hand gave, and the hand took away. And sometimes, it took so much.

"Where do you suppose we should spend the night?" Stormfur asked.

"I was thinking," Squirrelpaw began, "Perhaps we could rest by one of those steaming pools of water we passed by on the way here? That wouldn't be so cold, and we could hide on the other side of the fences, if need be."

"What's with that steaming water, anyway?" Brambleclaw asked.

Tawnypelt shrugged. "It's a miracle of modern innovation. There's a reason it exists, but I don't understand it. Perhaps there's a great big fire underneath the pool that we can't see?"

"I find that... implausible."

The sudden sound of hurried, heavy footsteps caught their attention. They were moving in their direction at a fast pace, and were quickly revealed to be a small group of black and white dogs, with pointed ears. Before they could suitably react, they had caught up to them. One of them had a squirming Crowpaw in its mouth.

"Wait, wait, I got this one," Squirrelpaw said. "_Ick bein un Berliner_."

That prompted a few chuckles amongst the dogs.

"Is this yours?" the dog at the front said, motioning to Crowpaw, who hissed at them.

"Uh, I guess he is," Brambleclaw said. "But how did you, uh, figure that out? I mean-"

"We're very good at tracking; you all smell alike. Anyway, your fellow, he tried to pounce on poor Colfax over there when he was sleeping. Gave him quite a scare."

"Is that true, Crowpaw?" Feathertail said.

Crowpaw refused to look at her, and muttered something incomprehensible.

"But he is yours, then?" the dog repeated.

"Unfortunately, yes," Tawnypelt said.

The dog holding Crowpaw let him go, whereupon he scurried over to join them.

"Have you lost your owners?" another dog said. "You have no collars."

Stormfur shook his head. "We don't have owners."

"Strays? Then, why are you here? You can not survive the winter."

"We have to travel through these mountains to reach our home," Brambleclaw said. "It's our destiny."

The dog stared gravely at him. "Your destiny will get you killed. If you leave now, you will freeze in the wastelands ahead. You must wait for spring, for the snow to clear out."

"But we can't just _wait_," Squirrelpaw said. "Every moment we spend here is a moment that our home is closer to destruction!"

"If you go now, you will die, and your home will be destroyed. Wait, and you will survive, and perhaps save your home. Is that clear?"

Though the dog's words were harsh, they were probably correct. In the alpine wilderness, they would have likely succumbed to the cold conditions in a few days if not for the town they stumbled upon. Furthermore, judging by the dog's stern insistence that they not leave the town, there was probably not another village that they could count on for food and warmth.

Still, it was a bitter pill to swallow, as their imaginations would be left to focus on what was becoming of the forest as they waited.

"Also," another dog said, "It would be a shame for you to miss out on the holiday celebrations."

"The what?"

"You know! The human holidays."

"I'm afraid we don't know," Tawnypelt said.

This prompted a brief internal discussion among the dogs, spoken in their native tongue.

"You poor fellows," the dog said. "You should come with us; I offer you a place to stay, and a chance to talk."

"We can't accept that!" Crowpaw hissed. "They're dogs! We can't trust dogs!"

"We can trust them a lot more then we can trust you," Feathertail said.

* * *

><p>The dogs led them to a shed, which was warm and well lit. It had its own decorated pine tree as well, a miniature version of the tall one in the center of the village. The dog they presumed was the leader of the bunch, who was called Kodac, took it upon himself to explain a great many things to them.<p>

"Today is a night of anticipation, as all the children refuse to sleep," Kodac said. "Tomorrow is a day of celebration of gifting. Everyone gives us things on that day, every year. In that spirit of generousness, we decided to take up the mantle of charity, and give gifts to our friends and family, as well."

"But why do the humans do all those things?" Stormfur asked.

"We don't know."

"You mean you celebrate something you know nothing about?"

"It just feels right," Colfax said.

Kodac went on to describe the work that they did at that snowy town.

"Sometimes, when the good folks out there go skiing, they injure themselves, or they get buried in the snow. When that happens, it is our job to go out and find them, so they can be brought back and fixed up. In return, the humans look after us. If they did not, we would not last a year up mountains are cold and harsh. In the winter months, all the native animals sleep until it is warm again, and the grass is free again. Since we can not sleep as long as they can, we wait, and watch the blizzards come and go."

"So there really is nothing out there?" Tawnypelt asked.

"Nothing, unless you were to find their hidden dens, buried underneath the snow and ice."

"I have a question," Feathertail said. "Why are you helping us? Forgive me for being presumptuous, but I thought our species were natural enemies; most of the dogs we've seen would attack us on sight."

"The job of many, many dogs is to watch over their owner's land," Bluebell, another dog, said. "It may seem like a natural trait of ours, to you, but you can find many dogs who are not tasked as guardians to be pleasant enough. Such as ourselves."

"That's fair enough. I know we would do the same to any unknown visitors to our land, if they weren't like us... and probably if they were, too."

After that, the dogs were curious to learn of the strange ways of the strange cats who wandered through mountains in the winter, with no owners. They listened well to the tale of four Clans in a forest, the code of warriors, and the prophecy that had led them there.

"If I had to be honest," Kodac said, "That sounds like a bad way of living. Having to always fight each other, instead of working together."

"It's part of the life of a warrior, I guess," Stormfur said, although he didn't sound too sure.

After they exchanged a few more pleasantries, the dogs left them to their own devices for the night.

"I'm always trying to figure out when my life became a irreversible downward slide into a neverending, hellish nightmare," Crowpaw said.

"If I had to guess," Squirrelpaw said, "It would've been the day you first opened your mouth."

While their argument continued on in the background, Feathertail closed her eyes, and tried not to think of what was happening at the forest.


	7. Godwin's law for cats

The forest's days were numbered.

That was the terrible realization Leafpaw was slowly coming to terms with, as a patrol brought news of another tree being cut down. Already, a sizable area near Snakerocks was completely defoliated, and all the rodents they relied on for food retreated from the growling machines that pressed further into their territory every day.

Spottedleaf's previous words on the subject had not been too comforting, as they mandated that they would have to wait until either the travelers returned, or for all hope to seem lost. But in the gap between those events was a whole host of bad things that could happen, and nothing the Clans could do about it.

What were they waiting for, anyway? Would they all turn and leave when the time came? Or was StarClan waiting until it was necessary to reveal some secret that could save them? Hopefully-

"Leafpaw?" Cinderpelt asked.

Leafpaw shook her thoughts out of her head and turned to answer her mentor.

"What is it, Cinderpelt?"

"Could you go and fetch me some nettles? They're out by the RiverClan border."

"Cinderpelt, there aren't any nettles by the RiverClan border."

"Well, why not be useful, and see what you can find there, alright?"

Leafpaw nodded, and quickly set out for the border, even though she knew that there was nothing there for her to find. Maybe she would nab a bit of chamomile on the way back, and say she found it by the river. By now, she was used to routinely ignoring half the things her mentor said.

But that resulted in another question: what in the world was chamomile good for? Probably nothing but wishful thinking, something that was already present in massive quantities.

When she reached the border, she spotted Mothwing on the other side of the river, who appeared to be in the middle of a similar hunt for herbs, even though there was clearly nothing there.

"Hello, Mothwing!" She waved to her friend, who looked up. "What are you doing over there?"

"I'm looking for, uh, nettles," Mothwing said. "You haven't seen any around here, have you?"

"No, Mothwing, I don't believe there are any nettles here."

"Aw, nuts. Mudfur isn't going to be happy with me..."

Leafpaw scratched her head. "Why would Mudfur tell you to look for nettles where there aren't any?"

Mothwing sighed. "There's been some... friction involving my position as an interpreter of StarClan's messages. I can't tell you about it, but Mudfur hasn't been happy with me."

"Is he really?" Leafpaw asked. "I know Cinderpelt gets annoyed with me sometimes, but she never gets angry."

Mothwing sadly nodded. "This was probably one of his ways of indirectly punishing me."

"I don't suppose that this would have anything to do with your first visit to the Moonstone, then?"

Mothwing said nothing, but the look on her face told Leafpaw everything she needed to know.

"Cheer up," Leafpaw said. "I know where you can find some chamomile around here. Hopefully Mudfur will be satisfied with that."

Mothwing perked up and smiled. "Thanks, Leafpaw!"

Leafpaw returned her smile. "Anything to make my friends happy!"

Although, in retrospect, it was odd to see friends who were separated on all but two days of each month by a river, which was backed up on either side by fierce and territorial defenders.

"The chamomile grows up this way, close to the bridge," Leafpaw said.

"It does?" Mothwing said. "I've looked around there before, but I haven't been able to find anything."

"Well, you see, you have to-"

"Hey! Hey you!"

They turned around to see Hawkfrost racing towards them, breathing heavily.

"What's the deal, Mothwing?" Hawkfrost grunted, trying to catch his breath. "I told you, you had to tell Leopardstar about that dream. But when I asked her-"

"Mudfur knows the dream wasn't real, Hawkfrost," Mothwing said tersely.

"WHAT? Don't tell me you-"

"Of course I didn't tell him. He just knows."

"Well how could he KNOW if you didn't tell him?"

"He knows what you did. Some members of StarClan told him. If I were you-"

"This is terrible!" Hawkfrost shouted. "All the work I put into my plans, my intricate webs of secrecy... it's all been wasted!"

"Your plans weren't that clever, anyway. I'm sure someone would have guessed-"

"QUIET! I need to think... hmm."

"Forgive me for interrupting," Leafpaw said, "But what are you talking about?"

Hawkfrost jumped. "How long have you been standing there?!"

"This whole time, actually."

"And you heard everything?!"

"Yeah," Leafpaw said sheepishly. "I can't say I understood any of it, though."

"She knows too much. We have to get rid of her," Hawkfrost hissed.

Mothwing snorted. "Are you kidding? She just told you she had no idea what you were saying. Quit acting like that."

"But-this-jeopardizes-everything! If word gets out, my plans to rule the forest are done for!"

"Why is it always about ruling the damned forest with you? It's not even going to be around for much longer."

"It's what dad would have wanted," Hawkfrost muttered.

Mothwing sighed.

"We'll talk about this later," Hawkfrost said. "And, if you tell _anyone_-"

"I know, I know," Mothwing grumbled.

Hawkfrost glared at her, then slunk off away from the river.

"What was all that about?" Leafpaw asked.

"It's complicated," Mothwing said. "I'd like to tell you about it, but my lovely brother you just saw won't let me. If I rat him out, he knows a nasty secret about me that he'd make sure to tell everyone before he gets punished." She mournfully stared at the ground. "It seems we are blessed to live in interesting times."

"That sounds awful," Leafpaw said. "Is there anything I can do about it?"

"I'm afraid not. Now, where was that chamomile?"

"It's over this way..."

Leafpaw led her over near the bridge, where a scant few of the white and yellow flowers were hidden underneath the bigger ferns that surrounded them.

"I would never have noticed these!" Mothwing said. "Thanks again, Leafpaw. I'll be sure to remember where these grow."

"Don't mention it!" Leafpaw said cheerily. "Anyways, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"Who is your father?"

Mothwing visibly tensed up. "I... uh..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's... well... look, promise me that you won't look down on me for saying this, alright?"

"Why would I ever do that?" Leafpaw asked.

"Well... alright, I'll say it." Mothwing took a deep breath. "My father is... _was_ Tigerstar."

"Mothwing, I wouldn't look down on you just because of your parentage," Leafpaw said. "In fact, some of my best friends are Tigerstar's children!"

"You know, that doesn't really-"

"Mothwing, there's already an entire generation that's growing up only knowing about him from stories. Don't worry about it."

"Huh." Mothing blinked. "When you put it like that, it really isn't such a big deal, isn't it?"

"You really think so?"

"No. Thanks for trying, though."

"Aww."

With that, Mothwing gathered some of the flowers, and set off towards the RiverClan camp.

* * *

><p>As she went to sleep, Leafpaw wondered what Tigerstar would do if he was faced with a bunch of two-leg machines invading his territory. Knowing his bloodthirsty nature, he would probably have all the other cats line up in front of the monsters and be killed, until the machine was unable to move through all the bodies.<p> 


	8. Blizzards in winter

The next morning brought with it icy winds and heaps of snow, halfway burying the entrance to the shed. In the bright morning light, they noticed many new decorations hanging around the shed. Hanging throughout the building were strange plants, which took the form of green, fiber-like rings. Brightly colored, small fabric sacks hung from the walls. A small sprig of leaves and bright red berries hung limply from the ceiling.

Had someone sneaky added them in the night, or had they always been there, and they had just failed to notice them?

Whatever the answer was, it was almost certainly irrelevant.

Stormfur was nowhere to be found, so Feathertail ventured outside to look for him. It was a decision she immediately regretted, as the harsh white light in her eyes and the bitterly cold air all made her senses scream at her to turn back. For the moment, she settled for squinting around the painfully bright landscape, looking for any patches of dark grey. Of course, there weren't any, but there was a patch of white and black that was close by.

"Awful weather, no?" Colfax said.

"Extremely," Feathertail said.

Colfax nodded, showing the ice that had formed on his eyelashes. "Well, now that you are up, you should be enjoying yourselves. Today is a day of celebration."

"You didn't see Stormfur leave here, then?" Feathertail asked."You know, the one with dark grey fur," she added upon seeing his puzzled expression.

"I was not here until a few minutes ago, so there it is possible he could have slipped by me. Do not worry too much about it, though. There is no way he could have gone far in these conditions."

She thanked him and returned to the welcoming warmth of the shed. The other cats had all gotten up, and were stretching and yawning as they slowly adjusted to the new day.

"Have you seen Stormfur anywhere, Feathertail?" Squirrelpaw asked.

Feathertail shook her head. "I was just outside looking for him."

"Now that is a shame."

It was a little over an hour before Stormfur returned, brushing the snow out of his coat, with Colfax at his side.

"Your friend said he was thinking about things. I had to put a little sense into him," Colfax said.

"Thinking about frostbite, I'd imagine," Crowpaw muttered.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Stormfur said. "I'll be sure not to wander away like that again."

"No harm done," Squirrelpaw said, "Though I am curious as to why you would want to stick your head outside, in an environment that seems to want to kill us."

"Well, it was just something I felt like doing. That's all."

Although it was clear that he was hiding something, Squirrelpaw decided not to press the issue. Feathertail had other plans.

"Can I talk to you?" Feathertail asked Stormfur.

"Sure thing."

They walked to a corner of the room, near a desk with many stacks of paper lying in disarray.

"What were you thinking about, Stormfur?"

Stormfur sighed. "It's crazy. Everything is crazy. Haven't you realized?"

"Realized what?"

"Everywhere we've been on this trip, we've seen people who are happy, at ease, and at peace. While we lived like rats in a hole, gnawing at each other for any sense of superiority, there have been many groups out here who never have to worry about dying or being crippled in some awful battle, or worry about being treated like shit because their blood wasn't 'pure' enough! What... what have we been doing are whole lives? What kind of life is that?"

"The life of a warrior," Feathertail said.

"It's not right. Not right at all."

"Well, what can we do about it?"

Stormfur paused, then turned to one of the windows. "This morning, I thought I saw something. Some kind of creature that I had never seen before. I felt... compelled to follow it. I just felt like it would lead me to a better place."

"That's dangerous thinking. You could have-"

"I know. I'm sorry."

Around midday, most of the dogs returned to the shed, eager to talk about the day's festivities. The decorations, for instance, all had their specific purposes. The plants with green leaves and red berries supposedly represented love, as it was said that whoever you saw when first standing underneath it would be your soul mate from that day on until one of you died.

"All the more reason to avoid them, I suppose," Tawnypelt said.

There were also the bright fabric containers, which were said to hold gifts, although the ones in the room were empty. The trees decorated with lights, including the large one in the center of the town, were alleged to be markers for a strange entity that prowled the skies, looking for cities to give its blessing.

The dogs also said that they felt bad because they had no gifts for the warriors, although they had realized that they had little to offer them beyond basic necessities. Feathertail considered their generous hospitality to be a fine gift in its own right. A part of her questioned if that was due to her upbringing more than anything else.

After that, they again left for the outside world, saying that they had to visit their human masters (although they preferred to refer to them as their 'employers'). And just like that, night was once again upon them, and they were again stuck in a frigid human town nestled in the mountains, far away from their friends and family.

* * *

><p>For the next week, they were stuck in that place, with a routine gradually falling into place. After waking up, they would quickly go out to eat from the various trash bins that were scattered throughout the village, taking care to avoid the humans and not to stay out for too long. After that, they would return to the shed, alternating between having aimless conversations and thinking about the forest. Squirrelpaw took the opportunities when the dogs were around to work on her understanding of their native language, which, according to Kodac, was initially atrocious. Nevertheless, she devoted herself to practicing it whenever she could, which eventually led to her managing brief conversations with the dogs in their tongue, which was an odd sight to see, and even stranger to listen to.<p>

As it was, they might have heeded Kodac's words and waited out the whole winter in that place, if not for two events.

The first was an unexpected streak of warm weather (the mountains had already conditioned them into thinking that anything above freezing was 'warm'), which continued for several days and led to a lot of the snow that had piled up melting. Walking in the stuff, which had previously been a risky proposition, now became bearable, as they didn't have to worry about sinking a foot in and being covered in snow.

The second was a dream Crowpaw had.

"No! Fourtrees! We can't..." Crowpaw muttered, twitching and rolling about in his sleep.

"What's with him?" Brambleclaw asked.

"Probably a nightmare," Stormfur said.

A minute later Crowpaw had woken up, and quickly gotten to his feet.

"Guys, we have to leave RIGHT NOW," he proclaimed, wide eyed.

"And why would that be?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"Fourtrees will be destroyed! I saw it, bright as day! The oaks gone, smashed to pieces!"

"But Crowpaw! You told us that the forest was doing just fine, and there was nothing to be worried about."

"A-a-and nothing will be wrong if we get there, before this happens," Crowpaw said, his voice cracking at the end.

"Before what happens?" Feathertail asked.

"Before the thing that happens destroys Fourtrees which won't happen because we'll get there in time to stop it, okay?!"

"Okay."

"No, this is not okay! We need to leave."

Brambleclaw frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea. You heard what Kodac said, right? There wouldn't be a mouthful of food on the way, and it'd be as cold as it was here."

"So what?!" Crowpaw shouted. "We need to save the forest! We can't risk staying here a day longer, or else there won't be any Clans to save!"

Stormfur sighed, and turned to the others. "If Fourtrees was destroyed, how much longer do you think the Clans could survive?"

"Not for very long," Feathertail said. "Most of the best hunting grounds are in the general vicinity, and they would have to have been torn up for the humans to get to Fourtrees."

"So if the dream is true..." Brambleclaw muttered, trailing off in thought.

"We should talk to Kodac about this," Squirrelpaw said. "At the very least, he should be able to tell us the best way out of these mountains, should we decide to leave."

* * *

><p>Kodac was idly watching the skiers when the warriors came to talk with him.<p>

"Hello, friends!" he said. "What brings you here?"

"We were planning to leave, and we wanted to know the quickest way down from here," Squirrelpaw said.

The grave expression they had seen before when discussing traveling by the snowy peaks returned to Kodac's face. "To go now would be a fool's errand."

"Then, for the purposes of this conversation, we are fools, hoping to be graced with your wisdom. What is the best way to get through the mountains, so that we would not be exposed to the elements for too long? I'm sorry to say that we can not wait any longer, for our Clans are in great peril."

Kodac sighed and turned around, and waited a long time before responding.

"I would never say this, if not for the unseasonal warmth we have been blessed with these past few days. If... if you truly cannot wait, there is a path you could take, through one of the valleys. In three days, you could cross the avalanche territory, and climb down to a livable height... maybe."

He turned again to face them.

"It would be much safer to wait, but... if the weather stays clear and warm, you might have a chance. I can show you the path you must take, but I will go no farther. If you must leave, meet me here again in an hour. I must discuss this with my comrades first."

He took off running towards the other end of the town.

"And now, we have a decision to make," Squirrelpaw said. "Do we risk venturing into the frozen unknown, or do we sit loftily in our place of comfort, while the Clans waste away?"

"I don't think it's quite that simple," Feathertail said.

"Well, who cares? It's time to vote."

In the end, leaving came out victorious, with only Tawnypelt wanting to stay behind until spring.

* * *

><p>Kodac led them a ways beyond the town, up a hill, where the vastness of the alpine landscape came into full view. Great snowy hills rose on all sides of the horizon, shadowed by peaks with blunt edges. Ahead, a relatively flat stretch of white snow shone in the sun, with a discolored vein of whitish-blue running through it.<p>

"You will follow the river, which is currently frozen, as it winds down the valley. You can see it, right? That will take you back down to the foothills, where you can find some chipmunks to eat, and water that flows. If the weather changes and a snowstorm comes, seek shelter immediately. You will not last more than an hour in those conditions."

"Got it," Squirrelpaw said.

"And what ever you do, try not to disturb the land. You might knock the snow down, where it will race down the hills and bury you."

"Don't worry. We'll make it."

"I know you will."

But as they left, Kodac was sadly shaking his head.

* * *

><p>At first, their decision seemed like a good one. Warm weather and clear skies followed them as they made their way across the valley, with nothing but the winds to bother them. At night, they rested by an outcropping of rocks, which did an adequate job of shielding them from the wind. Sleeping on the cold snow was a rude departure from the warm floors of the shed, but it wasn't something they couldn't handle. Throughout the second day, they continued following the river Kodac had mentioned, which was little more than a patch of ice amongst the snow. True to his word, it sloped down through the valley, slowly bringing them closer to the hills that were populated at this time of the year.<p>

And then came the third day.

The weather, which seemed ominous in the morning, with many clouds hovering in the sky, quickly proved to be dangerous, as the winds grew in intensity and kicked up snow. The clouds soon covered the sky in an unending seal of grey, and dropped heavy flakes of snow onto the warriors, who were already taxed by the lack of food from the previous two days. The temperature dropped until the air was so cold that breathing it was painful, and their vision was blocked by the nearly opaque clouds of snow that surrounded them.

"We need to find shelter," Feathertail said. "Now."

But the blizzard did not let them, as all they could see was white, white, and more white. All they could do was march slowly forward, into the winds, into the biting cold, hoping for the best.

_Was this all a big practical joke?_ Feathertail wondered. _Going out all this way, just to die like this?_

No, it was best not to think like that. They could live, they _had_ to live, so they could save the Clans. They had to keep going. Each step slower then the last; no, they had to focus, they had to muster all their strength, they had to continue.

Crowpaw began lagging behind the rest of them, only feebly walking forward into the howling wasteland.

"Crowpaw, are you alright?" Feathertail asked.

"'m tired, is all," Crowpaw mumbled, barely audible over the winds. "Just need to take a nap..."

He slunk to the ground. Feathertail recognized the symptoms of hypothermia from the foolhardy apprentices that would go swimming in the river in winter, but this was much, much worse.

"I'll carry him. But he won't last much longer out here," Feathertail said.

Picking him up only made the severity of the situation feel that much worse. It didn't help that the apprentice was heavier than she expected, and she was already quite tired.

_Stupid little scamp, isn't he? And now he's going to die out in this hellish place, alone and unloved. Well, we'll all die alone and unloved- no, can't think about that._

Soon afterwards, she noticed that Squirrelpaw was struggling to keep pace with them, lying low against the winds. Stormfur noticed this too, and approached her.

"Are you feeling okay, Squirrelpaw?"

"Oh, I'm glad," Squirrelpaw said.

"Glad about what?"

"I'm just so glad that we're frozen out here, and that he's in there, and..."

She would have hit the floor if Stormfur didn't catch her.

_Could I have stopped this? If I had acted more sensibly, and convinced the others that this was too dangerous... no, I thought we would be fine. I thought StarClan would watch over us..._

Tawnypelt abruptly stopped and sat down.

"What are you doing, Tawnypelt?" Brambleclaw asked.

"I'm not going any further," Tawnypelt said.

"You have to keep going, Tawnypelt. If you don't, you'll die."

"No."

"Please."

_Do prophecies ever not come true? Could we be failing this one?_

Tawnypelt laid herself out in the snow, and nothing Brambleclaw said would convince her to get up, forcing him to drag her along. But Tawnypelt was a full grown cat, unlike the apprentices, and Brambleclaw struggled to cover any sort of distance while dragging her. It wasn't long before he gave up, and joined her in the snow.

"Brambleclaw, you have to get up," Feathertail said.

"I can't," Brambleclaw murmured.

"You have to get up."

"I'm sorry."

_Is this how it ends...?_

Feathertail tried to keep moving, for the sake of the others, but found it more and more unbearable. The solution was dropping Crowpaw, giving her a momentary burst of energy. But it was only momentary, and soon she was trapped in the blizzard again, trying to do the impossible.

A drowsy warmth crept into her limbs, slowly at first, but then faster and faster as it grew ever colder. It wasn't so bad out here. Nice and warm, just like the camp. She always liked to take naps at the camp. And why not? She deserved a rest, after all. She was the one who had gone out into this awful place. Who wouldn't be more deserving of a rest?

She sat down in the snow and closed her eyes. She thought she had seen an unfamiliar figure in the snow, but dismissed the idea. There couldn't be anyone there.


	9. This page sponsored by Jack Link's

When Feathertail awoke, the first thing she noticed was the lack of pain. It took a moment for her to figure out why that bothered her, as her most recent memories slowly rearranged themselves into something understandable. They had been caught in a blizzard and almost certainly died. Perhaps that was why there was no pain. And yet she didn't feel dead, unless being dead felt no different then being alive.

She opened her eyes and saw a wall of grey stone that extended outwards in all directions. Were they in a cave? As far as she knew, the afterlife was a starlit forest, not a cave. Could they have survived? Or had they been transplanted to some otherwordly place, as a result of being so far from their home?

"I think she's waking up!"

That voice came from somewhere behind her, but she wasn't sure if she was up to the task of rolling over to see it. Fortunately, the owner of the voice spared her the effort by walking into her field of vision. It was a smallish brown cat with pale yellow eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Feathertail.

"Exhausted," Feathertail said.

"I bet you would be. If you had been out in that blizzard for a little longer, we would have lost you for sure."

So they hadn't died. Instead they had been rescued by... whoever these strangers were. What were they doing out here, anyway?

Feathertail glanced at the part of the cave she was in. It was dimly lit through light seeping into the cavern from what she presumed to be the outside. It was also remarkably smooth, lacking the stalactites that had characterized Mothermouth.

"Where am I?"

"Why, you're with the Tribe of Rushing Water, of course!" the brown cat said.

Feathertail blinked. "Rushing water?"

"Well, during the summer, anyways. My name's Brook."

Feeling her strength returning to her limbs, Feathertail struggled to her feet.

"Easy now," Brook said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, but..." she trailed off, looking around her and noticing several conspicuous absences.. "...where are the others?"

"The others?"

Feathertail frowned. "There were six of us, traveling together. You found them, right?"

Brook looked away from her. "You have to talk to Stoneteller. He has some important information to discuss with you."

"Stoneteller?"

"He's the leader of the Tribe, and its healer, as well," Brook said. "Unfortunately, he's busy at the moment, so you'll have to wait for a bit."

Feathertail sighed and shook her head. "Listen, Brook. I need to know if you found the others, and if they're okay." She turned around and took a few tentative steps towards the exit.

Brook moved to cut her off. "I, uh can't let you leave."

"Why not?"

"Stoneteller's orders are that you are to be kept in this room until he is free to talk to you."

Feathertail considered the option of shoving the stupid girl out of the way and seeing for herself if Stormfur and the others had survived. Brook didn't look like much of a fighter... but she did look like a squealer, and there was no telling how many friends she could call in for backup if things went sour. No, it was probably best to wait and see what would happen. Perhaps there was a good reason for all this secrecy and suspicious activity. Perhaps she was being paranoid, and would shortly be reunited with Stormfur and the others again. Perhaps.

But the prospect of being confined in some wretched hole at the whims of some implacable authority brought back bad memories. She mentally cursed Tigerstar and Leopardstar, as she had done thousands of times before, for their many crimes, so many of which still had gone unpunished.

"Alright, I'll stay... for now," Feathertail said.

Brook smiled. "Great! By the way, I don't think I caught your name...?"

"Feathertail."

"Well, it's good to meet you, Feathertail! While you're here, is there anything that would make your stay more comfortable? Some water, something to eat, or perhaps some yarn?"

"Some food would be nice," Feathertail said, wondering what use anyone could possibly have for yarn.

Brook left and returned with some strips of meat, which closely resembled the beef jerky that raccoon had given them at a time which now seemed so far away. Feathertail found it agreeable enough, if rather salty, although she wondered where they had found it.

"If you don't need anything else for now, I'll leave you to your own designs," Brook said. "Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, if you need anything else, feel free to holler for me. I'll be upstairs." Brook turned and left the room, which quickly grew silent.

Upstairs apparently meant that the exit sloped upwards. Was the light faintly illuminating the room from the surface, or did it originate from some artificial source? That and so many other questions needed answering, but she would have to wait to learn them.

It was perhaps an hour, or two (it was hard to measure the passing of time in that place), when someone came to visit her. This time it wasn't Brook, but instead a large, stony faced grunt whose coat looked like it was made out of clay.

"This way," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the exit.

He did not lead her into what she thought would be the main entrance to the cave, but instead took her through a constrained and winding path that grew dark, until it opened up to a large, atrium like room, where a few cracks in the ceiling allowed for a small amount of light to trickle in. It must have been either sunrise or sunset, for the light was tinted red and hurt to look too closely at.

The cat who had led her there stopped at the entrance, next to another similarly soulless looking individual, and beckoned for her to go forward. As she did so, she noticed a figure hanging out in the shadows of the room, who stepped out into the light upon being noticed. He was a very dark shade of brown, with blue eyes that resembled the color of stagnant water.

"Once again we owe it to the blessings of our most watchful ancestors, that we are graced with such divine providence," the brown cat said, raising his head skyward.

"What?"

The brown cat ignored her, as if he was acting out a script. "Have we not been visited by the very person whose presence we have needed the most, in these dire and deplorable times? The silver hero, who you promised would free us from the torment of the great evil? That we shall once again walk the earth, and find it fruitful instead of cursed, with plenty instead of pallor?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you who watch over us, us pitiful and misguided fools, we give to your our thanks, forever and always, for the irreplaceable work that you do." As the brown cat finished speaking, he turned his gaze towards the ground and closed his eyes for a moment.

When the moment had passed, he looked up at Feathertail. "I am Stoneteller, and I gather that you have many questions you want answered," he said.

"Maybe."

"All in due time. Now, the stones have shown me-"

Feathertail cut him off. "Where are the others?"

"The... ah... others?"

"I was not traveling alone when I was found in the blizzard. There were five other cats near me. Did you find them?"

Stoneteller took a moment to respond. "Yes, we found five others. They... are safe, and being kept with the trainees."

Feathertail inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Can I see them?"

Stoneteller frowned. "Not yet, not yet. There are important matters to discuss."

"Really?"

"Yes, matters of great and dire importance..." Stoneteller turned and walked towards the center of the room, where the light was the brightest. "A prophecy, wrote in the stones of this cavern, that concerns your fate, and the fate of this Tribe."

"It concerns _me_?" Feathertail said, suspicious.

"Yes. The prophecy spoke of a silver cat, who would rescue us from the great evil that plagues us all. Now..."

"No, I think you must be mistaken."

Stoneteller did not look too happy at being told he was wrong, like a spoiled child insisting that his science fair project was not made by his parents. "Mistaken?!"

"Yes," Feathertail said. "You see, it's my mother who was silver. I'm covered in all these dark stripes, so I'm not the one you're looking for. And-"

"And?!"

"I already have another prophecy that I'm in the process of fulfilling. I can't be bothered with taking up another one right now."

Now he was absolutely livid. "You would dare defy the wills of the divine and the unfathomable?!"

"Well, I've talked to my ancestors before, and they really weren't divine or unfathomable. The word I would use is 'unremarkable'."

Stoneteller furiously glared at her while gnashing his teeth and walking in circles for a minute before managing to compose himself.

"If the mechanisms of the heavens mean so little to you..."

"May I see the others?" Feathertail asked.

"..._insolent_... Well, I'm sure we'll have plenty to discuss this later. Go and talk with your friends." He gave her an irritable motion as he said this. "Crag will show you out."

The clay-like cat that had led her to the room got up again, and led her again through the dark and winding path, turning at some unseen juncture to a large, open part of the cave, where the same reddish light was visible from one end of the room. Here there were various other cats milling about the room, who looked at her in awe as she passed by them. Crag continued to a side room, where the five other travelling warriors were sitting, unharmed.

"... so there's no way it could be a sickness-oh!"

They all turned around to face her.

"Feathertail! You're okay!" Stormfur said. "Star said you had been injured."

Feathertail blinked. "Star must have been mistaken, then. Whoever that is."

"So, did you talk to Stoneteller?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"I did, actually. He didn't care that much for what I had to say, though."

"Oh?"

"He wanted me to take part in some prophecy to save this... Tribe, or whatever it is."

"The Tribe of Rushing Water," Stormfur added.

Feathertail nodded. "I told him that I didn't have much interest in it, given that I had better things to be taking care of. He didn't like that at all, of course."

"Pardon me for asking this," Brambleclaw said, "But is it really wise to be stepping on the local leader's toes while we're staying here?"

Feathertail shrugged. "It shouldn't be an issue if we were to leave as soon as possible. The more habitable bits of the mountains shouldn't be more than a day's walk away from here, right?"

"Wrong," Tawnypelt said. "Come take a look at this."

She led them to a great wall of snow that rose to cover one entire part of the cave, letting only faint light to trickle in over the top of its mass.

"That," Tawnypelt said, "Is the only way out of here."

"How long do you think it'd take to melt?" Feathertail asked.

"A while," Stormfur said.

"Any chance of us climbing it?"

"None whatsoever."


	10. The world's largest gathering of nitwits

Leafpaw had been learning to dread each individual afternoon, for that was when the morning's patrols would return, invariably bringing bad news. Every time it was the same; another tree destroyed, another packet of land marked as unsafe. Since the first tree had been knocked down, a growing section of what used to be forest by Snakerocks was now naught but dirt, and no hunting patrols dared venture there. Owing to that, she thought she had seen a slow decline in the amount of food they caught each day, although that was also potentially attributable to her over reactive imagination (it was the coldest part of winter, after all).

The continuing destruction of their territory naturally had the whole Clan quite concerned, for, despite all of Firestar's insistences that everything was perfectly fine, it seemed that reality disagreed quite strongly with him. Furthermore, the desolation wasn't limited to ThunderClan, but visibly extended into ShadowClan's territory as well (and quite a ways into WindClan, although Leafpaw neglected to tell anyone this).

Thus, the Gathering that was to come that very night was an extraordinarily anticipated one, with many hoping to finally understand just what exactly was going on, as they assumed that one of the other leaders must have learned about the odd two-leg behavior of late. Leafpaw was not so expectant of this, but she did hope that Spottedleaf would soon come to her senses and tell her the missing information she needed that would hopefully save the Clans.

There was that word again; hopefully. Hopefully everything would turn out all right. Hopefully they wouldn't starve. Hopefully the two-legs would go back to their homes and not have their horrid machines roar into their homes and grind them into little tiny pieces. There was a whole lot of hoping to be done, and little to see from it.

"Leafpaw!"

Cinderpelt's call was enough to snap her out of-

"Leafpaw! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"I'm sorry, Cinderpelt," Leafpaw said. "I was just-"

"I don't have time for this! Go and fetch me some dock leaves."

"What do we need dock leaves for?"

"Very important issues! I have a patient that needs them right away!"

"Alright, I'll get them."

Leafpaw retreated to Cinderpelt's den, returning with the leaves. Cinderpelt's patient turned out to be Dustpelt, who was nursing a few scratches.

"Uh, Cinderpelt, why do we need dock leaves for him?" Leafpaw asked. "We should be getting him cobwebs, to stop the bleeding."

Cinderpelt blankly stared at her for a moment before recomposing herself. "Yeah. Good thinking, Leafpaw. I'll go get some." She then hobbled off to where the herbs were stored.

"How'd you get those, anyway?" Leafpaw asked.

"I had a fun run in with a WindClan patrol," Dustpelt said. "You see, I was out near the border, and I suddenly noticed something wrong with their territory. It was if someone had run a giant black line through the edge of their land. There was a patrol there too, and they weren't happy that I noticed whatever was wrong with their land. Not happy at all."

Leafpaw gulped. "A b-black line? You're certain you saw that?"

"Yeah. What's it mean to you, anyway?"

"Well... you'll see."

* * *

><p>The night of the Gathering brought fresh winter winds and bright winter clouds, both of which made the venture to Fourtrees feel like more of an ordeal than it usually did. The latter part of it was due to their superstitious belief that clouds covering the moon signified anger on the part StarClan.<p>

Like many others, Leafpaw was rather concerned about what their elusive ancestors were up to. Perhaps tonight would give her a better answer, even if it didn't turn out to be a happy one.

ThunderClan, as usual, was the last Clan to arrive. However, Leafpaw noticed at once that something wasn't quite right about this particular Gathering. While Gatherings typically had all of the Clans split up and mingle into many small groups in order to talk, this time this was not the case, as all the WindClan members were rigidly keeping to themselves under the watchful eyes of Tallstar. To add to that, there were far more WindClan members present then usual, and the ones there were visibly thinner and raggeder then they had been last month.

How much could have changed since she had first seen the desolation inflicted on their territory?

"Hey, Leafpaw!" Mothwing called out, waving to her friend from a secluded part of the clearing.

"Hey," Leafpaw said, walking forward to greet her. "Did you notice something odd about tonight's Gathering?"

"You mean WindClan?" Mothwing said. "Well, now everyone knows that something's going on with the two-legs in their territory. One of our patrols saw the damage they had done from near the border. Tallstar will have to tell the other Clans tonight; I'm sure of it."

"That must be quite painful for him. You know how leaders are about admitting any potential weaknesses."

"But they do seem to be in quite a bit of pain already. I mean, just look at them! They can't be holding up well."

"And how long will it be until it's us that aren't hanging up well?" Leafpaw asked. "The two-legs, they've already torn up all the forest bordering Snakerocks!"

Mothwing blinked. "Where is Snakerocks?"

"It's by the main road that runs by the edge of our territory. Soon the two-legs will be cutting past there, not far from our camp, if they aren't stopped."

Mothwing frowned. "That's terrible news, Leafpaw. If we don't do something fast, there won't be a forest for us to save!"

"What could we possibly do right now?" Leafpaw said forlornly. "Without StarClan's help, we're powerless against those machines."

"We have to think of something. Maybe-"

"Mothwing! What are you doing?" Hawkfrost growled, emerging from the shadows in a decidedly unintimidating manner.

"I'm talking to one of my friends, Hawkfrost," Mothwing sniffed. "Is that such a crime?"

"The crimes are for later. Right now, I'll need you to back me up. I have a speech ready for the Gathering, and-"

"We've been over this, Hawkfrost! Mudfur knows we're full of shit! He won't stand for it."

"Mudfur won't be a problem," Hawkfrost snorted. "I've set something up to deal with him."

"Oh, I bet you did," Mothwing said dryly. "Does it have anything to do with letting him drop dead of old age? I bet it does."

"Now, you listen here-"

"Save it. I'll talk about this later."

Hawkfrost glared at her before retreating into the crowd.

Leafpaw scratched her head. "What was-"

"You know I can't tell you, Leafpaw," Mothwing said.

Leafpaw sighed. "You're right. I should have remembered. I'm sorry."

Mothwing still looked at her as if she was angry.

"Mothwing...?"

"Stop doing that, Leafpaw. It's too cute."

"Eh?"

Mothwing suddenly looked very nervous. "Actually, uh, forget I said that."

"Are you feeling alright, Mothwing?"

A yell silenced them as the four Clan leaders ascended the great rock, in order to begin the Gathering proper.

"A good evening to all those who showed up tonight, and to those who could not make it," Firestar said, addressing the crowd as if it was a gathering of his closest friends. "I believe there will be a great deal for us to discuss tonight.

To begin with formalities, I am pleased to announce that none of my fellow Clanmates have died in the month since you've seen them. Like the wild grass that grows in the hinterlands, we are alive and well, and stronger then ever before. There is no problem at the present afflicting us in any manner or way.

No problem, except for the problem we all know exists. Do not pretend; each of us came here prepared with a lie that no sane mind would believe, owing to the irrefutable evidence against it. So let me be the one to spill the beans, since that is something I am exceptionally proficient at.

The two-legs that surround our forest on all sides have begun making a series of deadly incursions into our territories. My patrols have seen it all; deadly monsters that come lumbering into our forests and destroy all that they touch. They have eviscerated our trees and churned the earth itself to make it unlivable.

This has not happened to just my Clan. I trust that Tallstar and Blackstar will acknowledge that similar occurrences have been happening in their respective territories, unless they would wish to tell me that the desolated moorland and desecrated marshland my patrols have seen are naught but fantasies. Is what I'm saying correct?"

"It is," Tallstar said.

"Yes," Blackstar muttered grudgingly.

"And what of you, Leopardstar?" Firestar asked.

"RiverClan has suffered no unusual damages relating from any two-legs, and anyone saying otherwise is a liar," Leopardstar said.

"That I can believe," Firestar said. "It may be that the river has discouraged them from moving in on your land, but it is ultimately irrelevant, I think. StarClan decreed that there should be four Clans in the forest. If the two-legs were to continue their current course of action unhindered, then there would soon be no Clans in the forest, for we would all starve."

"Actually," Hawkfrost called out, "We could-"

"Did I give you permission to talk?" Leopardstar snarled.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then keep your mouth shut!"

"We know the problem exists, Firestar," Blackstar said. "What we haven't heard is what we should be doing about it."

"That is an excellent question, Blackstar," Firestar said, "And it is one I hope to have answered tonight.

In the darkest of times, no matter what ails us, we must always remember to trust in StarClan. That is what I learned in the battle with BloodClan, when all hope seemed lost. Now, when again we seem to be trapped in an increasingly hopeless position, we must not forget our faith,

That is why I believe the time is now that we all must pray. We must act as one, to show that, in spite of our differences, that we all put our faith first and foremost. By showing our faith, there would be no better time nor place for StarClan to answer our prayers, when they have remained elusive up to this point. What do you say?"

"That seems reasonable," Tallstar said.

Blackstar mumbled something that sounded like "typical", but nodded his assent.

"Very well," Leopardstar said.

For a full minute, all the cats in the Gathering lowered their heads and were silent, letting their innermost hopes fill their minds.

When the minute passed, nothing happened.

"I knew this would happen," Tallstar said, pacing across the rock.

Firestar blinked. "Tallstar-"

Tallstar ignored him. "When my Clan was driven out so long ago by Brokenstar, it was not StarClan that saved us, It was the ingenuity of warriors who drove out the bastard, and brought my Clan home. You know this, Firestar. Now that my Clan is once again faced with a crisis that StarClan cannot solve, I must again turn to the ingenuity of warriors.

We must leave the forest. We cannot afford to stay much longer."

The crowd, which had been silent before, now began whispering and murmuring in earnest.

"Tallstar?! What are you saying?"

"My sense as a leader tells me that I should not say this, but I will say it anyway. The damage inflicted by the monsters on our territory is fatal. We cannot survive on what we have for much longer, and every day more of it is taken away. My Clan is starving. StarClan or not, I cannot afford to wait any longer. Thus, I will ask all of the other Clans to join with us, on the journey that we will take to leave our forest and to find a new home. What do you say to this?"

"We're staying here," Leopardstar said. "There are no problems in RiverClan."

"I'll think about it," Blackstar said.

"Tallstar, how can you say these things?" Firestar said.

"My loyalty to my Clanmates comes first," Tallstar said. "If it didn't, what kind of leader would I be?"

Firestar looked as if he had been stung. "If that is your decision, then so be it. ThunderClan will not be leaving the forest."

And thus the Gathering adjourned indecisively, as Gatherings often did.


	11. A crash cultural sensitivity course

The Tribe of Rushing Water, as they called themselves, were a small band of cats not unlike the Clans that lived in the mountains for as long as the individual Tribe members could remember. The cave, however, was only selected as their place to live in very recently. Before that, they had lived further down the mountain, where it snowed less.

"It was Stoneteller's decision. He said it would be best for us to live closer to the sky, where our ancestors watch over us," Brook had said.

Brook was the most approachable Tribe member, and was often the one that was the first to answer any of the questions the travelling warriors asked. Talking was something she very much enjoyed, it seemed.

The Tribe divided itself mostly by the ages and experiences of each individual member. There were the youngest, who were looked after by their mothers, the ones old enough to learn to hunt, who were mentored by more experienced Tribe members, and there were the oldest, who were looked after by the Tribe as a whole. However, those divisions remained mostly theoretical, because the Tribe did not have any current elders or kittens to look after. There was only one apprentice (or, in their words, a 'trainee') being taught, and he claimed that he would be finished with his training in only a month.

The Tribe was led by Stoneteller, the brown cat who mostly kept to himself in his secluded corner of the cave. Not only was he responsible for managing the Tribe's daily affairs, but he was also tasked as their healer. The job of a healer was both spiritual and earthly in nature; a healer would tend to the wounded and interpret the ghostly messages from the world of the departed.

That world was ruled by what was called the "Tribe of Endless Hunting", which struck Feathertail as being an oddly literal name. From what little experience she had with the dead, they were anything but literal in their mannerisms (StarClan was a much less literal way of saying 'The Clan of Endless Riddles', after all). Perhaps these ancestors were different...?

At any rate, it seemed a little strange that so much authority in the Tribe would be delegated to just one person. Given the volatile nature of Stoneteller's decision making, there could be some troublesome developments laying in store for the Tribe.

Another thing that was strange was the Tribe's food situation. Instead of eating food they had caught themselves, they seemed to be relying on various salted human meats whose origin was unknown. Furthermore, with the cave's only exit blocked by snow, and the outside world so cold that no living creature dared poke its head out of the ground, no Tribe members went out hunting.

Whenever Feathertail of the other warriors asked about the subject of their food supply, the only answer they got was that it was Stoneteller's business, and that they were not privy to the details of it. Nevertheless, they had faith that everything would turn out just right, and they did not think the question was worth pressing.

Stoneteller's word carried a lot of weight within the Tribe, it seemed. The Tribe members held him in great esteem, and were eager to learn about how Feathertail's meeting with him went. When she told them about it, they were confused and upset.

"Stoneteller wouldn't act like that," Brook murmured. "He's kind and compassionate. A visionary."

"I'm just telling you what I saw," Feathertail said.

"Well, you must have been mistaken," said Jag, another devoted Tribe member.

"And how could you have refused his prophecy?" Star asked. "Don't you realize how important those are? To us?"

Feathertail shrugged. "It's really none of my business."

The Tribe members who she had been talking with looked at her angrily before walking away. Apparently, as far as saviors went, she was missing the mark.

Perhaps that was due to her lack of knowledge regarding what the Tribe needed saving _from_. On this subject, the various Tribe members continued to be stubbornly silent. Stoneteller had only spoken of a "great evil", which could have been absolutely anything, although the first thing that came to her mind was a hawk. Well, if he expected her to kill a hawk, he would have to live with being disappointed. Hawks were just bad news.

Even if she was prophesied with killing some kind of unruly beast, she certainly was given no opportunities for it. The snow blocking the cave entrance hadn't gone anywhere, so there was little else for her and her companions to do besides idly chat with each other and with the Tribe. It felt bad for them to be doing nothing while their home was probably being torn apart at the seams, but there was nothing that could be done about that. Hopefully, the humans would be taking their time in the cold weather...

The Tribe did not teach its members how to fight (although the ways in which Stoneteller's bodyguards carried themselves convinced Feathertail that this was not universal). In a way, that made sense, as there wasn't really anything for them to fight in the mountains that they could conceivably defeat. Nevertheless, it still struck her as odd to see a group of people so much like her former Clanmates going about their lives without ever having to worry about someone invading their territory, and warding off potential attacks. That, too, also made sense in a way, since she had a hard time believing anyone would actually want to live those awful mountains if they hadn't been born there.

To the Tribe, the warriors were at first seen as exotic foreigners from an exotic foreign land, but that impression quickly wore off as they discovered them to be a bunch of disorganized youngsters. Crowpaw in particular drew in a lot of ire, as he took every opportunity to be as unpleasant to the Tribe as possible, seeing them as beneath him. To him, any group that did not teach its members to fight was simply illegitimate, in all senses of the word. Every time an opportunity presented itself, he would proceed to call them out on it, as nastily as he possibly could. Feathertail was simply glad that he had taken a break from barking at her whenever he thought he could get away with it. Still, she was certain that, one day, someone less restrained than her would teach him a lesson about running his mouth.

Squirrelpaw, on the other hand, proved to be an eager learner of all the Tribe's many customs and legends. Every day, she would find the nearest Tribe member (often Star), and begin thoroughly questioning them on everything snippet of knowledge they had to offer. This, she explained, was the beginning of a thorough investigation.

"Surely you don't think that another group of cats living out here, with so many similar features to our Clans, is a coincidence?" she had said. "This is definitely a mystery that we need to solve at some point."

This, to Feathertail, seemed pointless, as even if there was some connection between the Clans and the Tribe, it would be nigh impossible to track down, unless Squirrelpaw gained access to some method of viewing the past at her discretion. If only there was a way for storing that kind of information in such a way that it wouldn't be lost to the ravages of time...

Brambleclaw had taken to worrying about the political situation with Stoneteller. Being a leader with absolute authority and the right kind of mind to abuse it, Brambleclaw worried that he would end up leading the Tribe to ruin in a few years. Furthermore, given how Feathertail had staunchly defied him on their first meeting, he saw it as being very possible that Stoneteller might simply not let them leave when it became possible to do so, or even have his supporters slit their throats while they slept.

"Even if that is what he's planning, there isn't much we can do about it, beyond keeping a watch while we sleep," Feathertail said.

"I know," Brambleclaw said. "For now, let's just watch what we say around here."

Tawnypelt did not concern herself with the Tribe to any significant degree, instead preferring to keep to herself, as she had done throughout the journey. For what it was worth, it appeared that she trusted the Tribe no more than her brother did, as she was quite fond of asking them where they got their food from. The barrage of non-answers she received did not dampen her interest in the subject, but instead seemed to encourage her, for her biting questions grew harder and harder to avoid over time.

As for Stormfur, it became clear quite early on that he had an interest in Brook that was more then friendly. It was obvious in the uncreative ways he would ask to please spend some more time with her, the obscene amounts of stuttering he would utter when she was talking to him, and in his inability to look at anyone else when she was around. Brook didn't mind this at all, and seemed to find him an engrossing subject as well. A few awkward, whispered confessions saw them constantly sitting together with their tails intertwined, in one of those classically revolting displays of youthful affection. Squirrelpaw seemed to be particularly offended by this, although Feathertail didn't know or care why.

Though Feathertail wasn't against something that was obviously making her brother happy, she was wondering about how he would handle leaving Brook when the time came for it. And, although she respected his privacy well enough not to eavesdrop on his private conversations with Brook, Stormfur's complete lack of concern for the future led her to believe that he was avoiding discussing the subject with Brook. Eventually, Feathertail realized that she would have to be the one to do it instead.

Getting a moment to talk with Stormfur proved to be far more annoying than it really had to be, given his stubborn insistence on being left alone for as long as possible with his new girlfriend. But after enough insisting, he did agree to talk with her.

"What's this all about, Feathertail?" Stormfur asked. "I'm kind of busy right now."

"Well, Stormfur, I've noticed that you've been spending a great deal with Brook as of late," Feathertail said.

Stormfur glared at her. "So what?"

"Stormfur... you know we have to leave. You know you won't be able to see her again."

Stormfur sighed, and turned to face the wall. "Feathertail..."

"I'm not saying this because I want to."

"... can't you let us be for now?"

Feathertail blinked. "For now. The snow is going to start melting soon, if the weather keeps up. And when it does, you have to be ready."

"I know," Stormfur said. "I know."


	12. Bittersweet, salty, and sour goodbyes

Stormfur promised Feathertail that he would inform Brook of the necessary limits on their relationship the next day, and Feathertail thought that that would be the end of it. That night, however, Stoneteller called him to his chamber for a meeting. She was initially worried for his safety, but Stormfur convinced her that, even if Stoneteller were to desire them all dead, he wouldn't be so foolish as to give away his intentions by offing them one at a time.

He did not return for quite a while, as the moon had gone nearly three quarters of the way around the sky when he arrived. His breathing was slow and rhythmic, and he looked as if he had seen something truly beautiful.

"What did Stoneteller talk about?" she asked.

Stormfur took a moment to respond to her. "Many, many things. I have to think about this more... we can talk about it tomorrow."

He went to sleep in that trance-like state, but woke up elated.

"Great morning, isn't it?" he said, basking in the few rays of sunlight that slipped their way into the cave.

"I guess," Feathertail said. "Weren't you going to be telling Brook about what we agreed on?"

Stormfur blinked. "Oh, right. I guess I'll be getting around to that."

"You don't sound very sure," she said, frowning.

"Did I tell you about what I talked about with Stoneteller last night? I think you'll find what he said to be worth hearing."

"Go ahead."

"Do you remember the legends of our most ancient kin, Feathertail?" Stormfur said, reaching up to the ceiling in a dramatic fashion. "Of the great Clans of Lion, Tiger, and Leopard?"

"Vaguely; there isn't much to remember about those tales."

"Well, they are definitely true, although they are incomplete. There are such beasts that still inhabit the world, although most of them are far, far away from where we live."

"Most of them?" Feathertail asked.

Stormfur nodded. "In mountainous regions, such as this place, there is one cousin of the three ancient Clans that walks the earth. They are called cougars, or mountain lions. Golden brown in color, they are much bigger then you or I, big enough that they could pose some challenge to any human they passed."

"Do you mean to say, then, that there cougars in this very mountain?"

"There could be many, but only one has been sighted. He... well, I say he, but I don't think there's any good way of telling that without getting up close... but anyway, he is called Sharptooth. Right now, he lays dormant beneath the ground, slumbering in whatever den he has chosen... but when he wakes up with the coming spring weather, he terrorizes the mountain and everyone who lives there."

Feathertail gave Stormfur a condescending sort of look. "Would this Sharptooth, by any chance be the 'great evil' Stoneteller had spoken of?"

"Precisely!" Stormfur said.

"And he expected me to kill it all by myself... how very absurd," Feathertail muttered.

"Try to see it from their point of view," Stormfur said. "If your Trib-I mean Clan was being savaged by some monster every year, you would take any prophecy that would guarantee your safety pretty seriously."

"If they really want to be safe, they should just leave. It's what we're going to do."

"But where would they go, Feathertail?"

Feathertail shrugged. "Maybe to some part of the mountains where it doesn't freeze over for half the year? So they could hunt on a regular basis, instead of eating all this human meat that they magically seem to conjure up from nowhere?"

"That's easy for you to say," Stormfur grumbled. "However, I don't think that Sharptooth is something you have to concern yourself over."

"Oh?"

"Stoneteller told me that he believed that he had misinterpreted the prophecy. He said that the silver cat might be me, instead."

"Funny," Feathertail said. "You don't look silver to me."

Stormfur absentmindedly shook some of the dust out of his coat. "A really dark silver, maybe?"

"I'm not buying it."

"Well, that's not all. Stoneteller also said that he thought that I really possessed the kind of character needed to be the silver savior the prophecy spoke of."

"And I didn't, because I told him off," Feathertail said.

Stormfur frowned. "Why did you do that, anyway?"

"I didn't realize he was so easily offended by me wanting to see my brother after being separated from him. I even thought that was _more_ important than his prophecy! Please, forgive me."

"I don't think you're being fair to him, Feathertail. I mean, if you really were the one the prophecy mentioned-"

"There's no way I'm risking my life to try and kill some hulking monstrosity to save a bunch of strangers at the behest of a 'leader' who's too afraid to leave his own cave and talk to his subordinates!" Feathertail snapped. "It's not happening. Ever."

Stormfur looked hurt at her accusation. "Would you do that for your Clan?"

Feathertail sighed. "For my Clan... no. I wouldn't."

"Then what would you do that for?"

"I'd do it for you," Feathertail said. "You know I'd go through hell and back for your sake. But this is all just semantics... we should be able to leave the mountains long before Sharptooth wakes up, right?"

"I know you'll be safe," Stormfur said, "But there was something Stoneteller offered me that I'm seriously considering right now."

"What kind of offer did he make you?"

Stormfur took in a deep breath. "He said that, if it was truly desired to... I could stay with the Tribe, instead of leaving. Permanently."

Feathertail shrunk back a bit. "And you're seriously considering this?!"

"Of course I'm seriously considering this!" Stormfur said. "I mean... do you think I really want to go back to RiverClan? To _Leopardstar_?" He violently shook his head. "It's not like they're pining for my return, either."

"I know that, Stormfur, but do you really think that life here will be much better?"

"Think? Feathertail, has anyone here ever thought less of me because of who my parents were? Do you think I'll ever have to worry about having to kill any of my friends, because they were born to a different Clan?"

"There are other problems," Feathertail said. "What about Sharptooth? What are you going to do about him, prophecy or not? What about all that human stuff they keep feeding us? You can't deny that they're hiding something important."

"So what if they're hiding something from us? I'm sure they have their reasons. As for Sharptooth, the prophecy said I would be the one to vanquish him. I'm sure I'll find a way."

Feathertail was silent for a long moment. "You are serious about it, then."

"Yes."

"You know you won't get see me again."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Stormfur said weakly. "I mean; you could stay too-"

"I wasn't invited," Feathertail said.

"I don't know... maybe I could work something out."

"I'm not interested." She turned to walk away.

Stormfur scratched his head, confused. "That's it? You're going to let me go, just like that?"

Feathertail briefly turned to face him. "If you really think that is the best decision for you, that this is what will truly make you happy, then I won't stop you from making it." She then continued to walk away.

"Feathertail... thanks," Stormfur called out as she left, although she didn't acknowledge it.

The annoying ball of orange running at her sure did, though.

"What was all that about?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"You'll find out in a few days," Feathertail said dismissively.

"A few days... would that be when we leave, by any coincidence?"

"Yes, and it would be no coincidence," Feathertail said. "Now, is there anything else you really need me to tell you?"

"Yes. I would like you to tell me the entire contents of that conversation," Squirrelpaw said cheekily.

"And what happens if I refuse?"

"Then, I'll bite down on your tail, and I won't let go until you tell me. From the mountains, back to the Clans, to wherever we end up going, you'll have to drag me all the way. How does that sound?"

Feathertail stared at her.

Squirrelpaw stared back, not budging an inch.

_Kids are such a pain._

"Stormfur's going to be staying with the Tribe, I think," Feathertail said.

"WHAT?!" Squirrelpaw squawked. "And you're just going to let him go?"

"It was never my choice to make," Feathertail said.

"But, but, you're supposed to look after him!" Squirrelpaw said, hyperventilating. "You can't let him stay here, I mean, what if something happens? What about Stoneteller?"

"I don't think Stoneteller will hurt him. At any rate, why is this so important to you?" Feathertail looked at her suspiciously. "I don't think that Stormfur is your sibling...?"

"I... uh... what about the prophecy? Didn't you fight tooth and nail to keep Crowpaw with us because of that?"

"Stormfur wasn't mentioned by it," Feathertail said. "At any rate, this journey has been enough to make me lose a lot of the respect I used to have for such things."

"So, you're just going to let this happen?" Squirrelpaw grumbled. "Well, I'll have you know that this isn't right! There's too many things wrong with this to be right! And I'll be doing something about it, that's for sure."

Feathertail sighed. "Whatever makes you feel better."

"Oh, it isn't just for me. Believe me," Squirrelpaw said, and scampered off to parts unknown.

* * *

><p>After giving the subject more thought, it did seem clear why Stormfur would choose to stay with the Tribe.<p>

He was right about their relative lack of prejudice. No Tribe member would look down on him because of the mistakes his parents had made. They wouldn't constantly feel the need to call out his loyalty for being divided. They might see him as strange for being a newcomer to their way of life, but they didn't seem to care that much.

He had also found someone that he really did seem to love in the Tribe. Was there a girl like Brook waiting for him at home? Stormfur had never seemed to care that much for any of the RiverClan girls he had seen. Maybe, in one of the other Clans, there was someone, but they would be off limits, by definition.

Perhaps Stoneteller's prophecy wouldn't even be that big of a danger to him. Maybe, instead of directly confronting the monster, they would poison him, or cut him open while he slept. Perhaps would be ingenuity that defined their savior, instead of brute strength.

Was she doing the right thing by letting him go so easily? Would a good sister insist that they stay together, or would that be overbearing? Something about Stoneteller didn't sit well with her, but he might have just been doing what he thought was best.

* * *

><p>In the time between that moment and when enough of the snow melted to let them leave, little of note occurred. Squirrelpaw was busy with... something, and rarely stayed in her sight for more than a minute. Brambleclaw had eased up a lot, given that Stoneteller had made no more moves threatening them, although he was still concerned about the fate of their Clans. They all were, at some level, but it had been a while since they had any opportunities to do anything about it. It would feel good to be on the move again, that was for certain.<p>

The more she watched Stormfur, in those last few days, the more wrong it felt to insist on taking him away from the Tribe. He really did look happy there, happier than he ever had looked in RiverClan. And, although he was officially still considering what he would be doing, she was certain that he would be choosing to stay.

* * *

><p>The day when they could finally leave that cave came with little fanfare; only bright sunlight and the dripping of melted ice. The Tribe was sad to see them go, for they had enjoyed the company of their foreign visitors (except for Crowpaw, of course), and hoped that they might see them again some day. Stoneteller did not come out personally to meet them, but wished them the best of luck.<p>

Stormfur then announced his new plans of residence to them, with mixed reactions all around. Tawnypelt and Crowpaw didn't seem to care, while Brambleclaw was disappointed to see him leave. Squirrelpaw seemed angry, and was sulking over something. What could it have been? It probably wasn't important.

Thus, they bade farewell to the Tribe, and headed down the mountain slopes.


	13. The beginning of the end

Tallstar's announcement had shocked the Clans, including Leafpaw. With one of the Clans of the forest planning to leave, the future seemed more uncertain than ever. Uncertain whispers and murmurs filled the air as the warriors at the Gathering tried to make sense of the proceedings.

That would have been a great time time for Spottedleaf to be expedient in revealing whatever secret she held, although Leafpaw had no idea what her thought process could be. She certainly didn't show up when Firestar had asked for help... perhaps that was also something that was prophesied, too. Whatever the prophecy said, it would soon lead to the death of them if _something_ didn't happen to pull them out of their predicament.

"Do you really think Tallstar would take his Clan and leave, just like that?" Mothwing asked Leafpaw, as the Gathering slowly began to break up.

"He did it once before, when Brokenstar drove them out," Leafpaw said.

"... Not that I could blame him for it. If the choice was between having your Clan starve and upholding the code, then, well, your Clan would have to come first."

"The real tragedy here is that he has to make that choice in the first place."

"MOTHWING!" Hawkfrost yelled from across the clearing, "We need to talk!"

Mothwing scowled at her obnoxious brother. "We'll have to discuss this later, when you get the chance. There's only so long I can keep him waiting before he gets impatient and does something stupid."

"Alright. See you later!" Leafpaw said.

Mothwing nodded to her before strutting off to where Hawkfrost was fuming.

"Leafpaw! What are you doing?"

Cinderpelt was directing her around again; no surprises there.

"I'm sitting here, Cinderpelt."

"Well, come along. We're leaving."

Leafpaw dutifully got up and followed her mentor as she exited the clearing.

"I believe Firestar will want to seek our advice shortly," Cinderpelt said. "He will have to make a decisive decision about this whole rotten business quite soon, and we have to be ready to help him with that."

"I don't think there's much help that I could offer him on this," Leafpaw said.

"Well, even so, you should be prepared to give it anyway. That is part our job, after all."

"How much longer will it be our job, I wonder?"

Cinderpelt stared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leafpaw weakly shrugged. "It feels like everything's beginning to fall apart. If those two-legs aren't stopped... this could be the end of the Clans."

"Nonsense!" Cinderpelt snapped. "Do you have no faith in StarClan?! Everything will ultimately turn out right in the end. I'm sure of it, and you should be, too, if you ever want to earn your warrior name!"

That threat might have held more weight if earning her warrior name meant anything, but Leafpaw was convinced that she could spend her whole life as an apprentice without noticing a difference in her life. Either way, she would be messing with plants and ghosts she didn't understand for many years to come. Assuming that the Clans survived their ordeal, of course.

"I'm sorry, Cinderpelt. I'll be more optimistic in the future."

They returned to the camp with little fanfare, where the cats who missed the Gathering were being filled in on the momentous events that had occurred there. Firestar had retreated to his den, which Cinderpelt took as a good sign.

"He always thinks these things over a bit by himself before asking for advice," Cinderpelt said. "Truly, those are the practices of a great leader."

"How so?"

"They just are, alright? Don't question them."

Sure enough, after a half hour or so had passed, Firestar called his most trusted Clanmates together for a discussion. Sandstorm, Greystripe, Cinderpelt, and Leafpaw all joined him in his den, which became more than a little crowded as a result.

"All of you are undoubtedly wondering what my planned response to Tallstar's rash actions will be," Firestar said, occasionally glancing at each other person there to see if they were paying attention to him. "Well, you will be pleased to hear that I have came up with a solution that will be the least painful one, for all of us. I propose that, from now until we discover the means to drive the two-legs from our land, that we divert a portion of our food supplies to WindClan, so that they do not foolishly decide to abandon the forest in the meantime."

While Leafpaw had not been around for the longest time, and her knowledge of the Warrior Code was a bit rough around the edges, she knew that, of all the sins a warrior could commit, the greatest sins of all revolved around the mishandling of food, which was by far the most precious commodity that each Clan possessed.

"_Our_ _food_, Firestar?" Leafpaw asked.

"Yes Leafpaw, _our_ _food_," Firestar said irritably. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been responsible for looking after a Clan that couldn't feed itself. At any rate, it will only be a short term problem we have to worry about. Once we find a way to save the forest, which I know we will, we can let WindClan attend to their own affairs again."

"I don't think the Clan would be happy about this, Firestar," Greystripe said. "Especially given how we're losing good hunting territory with each passing day!"

"We don't have to tell them about this arrangement. Not yet, anyway. Hopefully, they won't even notice what's happening."

"I don't think that's wise, Firestar," Leafpaw said.

"Of course you don't! You're just an apprentice!" Firestar snapped.

Sandstorm sighed. "Firestar-"

"We aren't telling the Clan, and that's it! I don't want to hear another word about it. Now, we'll need to talk about who will be delivering the food..."

"I think me and Leafpaw would be up to the task," Cinderpelt said. "I also believe that this course of action will grant us unforeseen benefits, Sandstorm. For instance, WindClan will owe us a debt-"

"No, they won't," Firestar growled.

"How could they not owe us, for what we'd be doing for them?"

"You don't understand. These Clan leaders... they are the SCUM of the EARTH!" Firestar angrily struck a rock on the floor, as if to signal for attention. "Do you know how many damned times I've had to save their sorry asses from their stupid mistakes?! Who was it that dragged WindClan back from that two-leg neighborhood when Brokenstar drove them out?! Who was it that led the charge that banished Brokenstar from the forest?! Who was it that fed RiverClan when their precious fish were being poisoned?! Who was it that united the Clans and killed Scourge?! Was it Leopardstar, who let Tigerstar commit all his atrocities without lifting a claw? Was it Tallstar, who's probably senile at this point? Was it Blackstar, Tigerstar's personal lapdog? No!

I put my heart and soul into trying to create a world where the Clans could live in peace, where the Clans could trust each other, but you know what those bastards are? Ungrateful. Leopardstar knows she was partially responsible for a lot of horrible things done under Tigerstar, but she doesn't care! She just keeps going along as if nothing ever happened. And Blackstar, Blackstar likes to pretend that he wasn't instrumental in Tigerstar's rise to power!

At least Tallstar can occasionally remember how much I've helped him in the past. But he's going to die soon, and his replacement will be Mudclaw. Mudclaw, that ungrateful whelp! You can tell he doesn't give a damn about what we've done for his Clan, and that he would be willing to turn on us in an instant.

I thought that, after we had all worked together to stop BloodClan, that things would be different. But no! As soon as Scourge bit the dust, it was right back to business as usual! Treating every Clan as your mortal enemies, and constantly working to have them eliminated behind the scenes!

These putrid excuses for leaders should be thankful that my allegiance is to StarClan, and not to them. If I was truly in control here, I'd let WindClan rot, just to show that bastard Mudclaw how I really feel about him. But I am not, and I will serve StarClan by keeping the Clans together in these dark times.

There once was a prophecy, stating that Fire would save the Clans. I _will_ make damn sure to save them again, no matter the cost. Is that clear?"

A halfhearted chorus of agreement reached his ears.

"Then my decision is made. We will be giving food to WindClan to alleviate their struggles, starting tomorrow. I don't want to hear a word of this spoken to anyone not present at this meeting."

* * *

><p>The decline in ThunderClan's food stock, which Leafpaw first doubted, now was quite noticeable. Even subtracting the loss that was given to WindClan (who had temporarily put off their evacuation plans at Firestar's offer), there was still a growing gap in their expected food supplies from their loss of hunting territory.<p>

They would be going hungry awfully soon, at the rate things were going.

That was troublesome.


	14. The story of Sharptooth

Farther down the mountain was a warmer, clear area where the land was completely infested with pine trees. They left the ground completely smothered in pine needles, with huge lumps of snow littering the ground where they had the luck to form under shady parts of the ground. The rest of the snow had melted, probably at a very recent point in time, given how damp the earth was. The sun was as bright as ever, and the air thicker and more welcoming. There were even a number of small rodents they found going out of their burrows; similar to squirrels in their builds, but lacking their reddish coloring and large tails. They certainly tasted much better then the Tribe's dried meat.

The relief they felt at escaping the worst parts of the mountains was quickly tapered when they realized that they had no directions, and were lost in a large valley with no idea of where to go next. After a little bit of aimless meandering that led them nowhere, they decided that the best course of action would be to stay put while waiting for some kind of sign from StarClan.

As they were searching for a suitable place to stay the night, however, they found something odd.

"Do caves usually look like this?" Tawnypelt said, peering into a square shaft leading into the earth.

"Most caves usually don't have wooden beams, as far as I know," Crowpaw said. "Unless they would happen to sprout of the Earth on their own accord. What do you think?"

"Oh, you are just so funny. I am just laughing so hard at that excellent joke."

Feathertail took in a long breath of the stale subterranean air. "Some people have been here, although they aren't here right now. The scents are stale."

"Do you suppose they would have any connection with the Tribe?" Brambleclaw asked.

She shrugged. "It's possible."

"Perhaps we should wait for them to come back," Tawnypelt said. "They probably know more about this area then we do. Plus, even if they don't show up, we'll still have found an excellent place to stay the night."

"If you like breathing rock dust, that is," Squirrelpaw muttered.

* * *

><p>The sun had only just begun its descent into the horizon when the previous occupants of the odd cave arrived. There were three of them, two brown and one grey, and they appeared to be quite a bit older then the warriors were. Their vacancy appeared to be due to their need to hunt, as they returned with a couple dead rodents to their name.<p>

"That's funny," the grey cat said. "Do you smell that?"

"You don't think he could have had a change of heart... could you?" one of the brown cats said.

The other brown cat shook his head. "No, Talon, that isn't him. He doesn't have yellow eyes, and he isn't very good at hiding, unlike this fellow over here."

Brambleclaw poked his head out from behind a rock. "I wasn't hiding," he said.

"Then what were you doing?"

"... sitting?"

"Well, in that case, could you tell your friends to come out, too?" Talon asked. "I don't like playing hide-and-seek."

The other four warriors rose from their hiding spots.

"Now, we're not used to visitors around here, so would you mind telling us why you've found your way to our humble mineshaft?" the grey cat asked.

"We're lost, and we were hoping that you could show us the way around here," Feathertail said.

"That is definitely something we could do... although I never thought we'd have the opportunity for it. What do you think, Rock?"

"I think this is all just a stupid dream," Rock grumbled.

"Oh, that's just like you, always complaining..."

"Why not come inside?" Talon asked, gesturing to what they called the mineshaft. "There's a lot of useful things back there that could help you with your current predicament."

"As long as the ceiling doesn't fall on us," Tawnypelt said.

"I assure you, that won't be a problem."

Talon led them into the dark mineshaft, where he hugged one of the walls. After a bit of walking, he stopped to fiddle with some sort of mechanical object. A moment passed, and a dim yellow light flickered to life from an object on the ceiling.

"You like it?" Talon said. "It's a parting gift from the humans that used to work here. Someday, it'll break down, of course. Everything breaks down eventually."

The mineshaft looked to have been disused for only a few years at most, for there were only a scant few spiderwebs lurking in the corners of the place, and most of the artificial constructions looked to be in relatively good shape. There was a sturdy wooden table which held a couple of heavy looking metal items, and there was a map hung up on one of the walls.

"That should help you with wherever you're planning on going," Rock said.

"It _is _strange, though, seeing a bunch of youngsters like you passing through here, especially in the winter... Bird? What are you doing?"

The grey cat had been absentmindedly tracing a path in the dirt. "Nothing, Talon."

"Forget it. So, where are you fellas heading off to?"

"We were trying to return to our Clans," Feathertail said. "They live in a little-"

"Hold on," Rock interrupted, "Did you say clans?"

Feathertail blinked. "Yes, I did."

"We had a visitor a while back who had a lot to say about clans of some sort," Bird said. "Rather unkind things, mind you. Her name was Sasha."

"You mean Mothwing and Hawkfrosts' mother? Did she mention anything about her kids?"

"As a matter of fact, she did," Talon said. "She was apparently very displeased at their choice of lifestyle, but she felt it wasn't her place to keep them from staying with those clans."

_Now where have I heard that before...? _

"At any rate, she did tell us, in great detail, the route that she took to get to this place," Bird said, "So you could follow that all the way back to your clans."

"Did she say where she was going?" Tawnypelt asked.

"California."

"What...?"

"A truly magical place," Rock said. "Where the girls will dance the night away with you and whisper softly in your ears."

"A place where you could catch all the chipmunks you wanted, and still have plenty to eat," Talon said.

"A place where the winters are soft, the summers are gentle, the winds are light, and the sea laps gently at your feet," Bird said.

"That sounds like a myth," Squirrelpaw said.

"How would you know? It's not like you've been there."

"I don't need to have been there-"

"So how did Sasha get here?" Feathertail asked.

"It's quite simple," Talon said, walking over to the map. "You just need to follow that stream down through the valley, and then you'll end up at the base of this farm. Once you're there, you can follow the windmills, which are these tall spinning things, and they'll take you to a place where you can see your forest. From there, you'll be able to find your own way."

"Thanks," Brambleclaw said. "You've been a huge help to us all."

"It's the least we could do for any travelers that happen to pass by," Rock said.

It could have ended there, with the warriors continuing to idly chat with the cats for a while before setting off again on their long journey, if Crowpaw hadn't decided to speak up. Or, perhaps it was inevitable that someone would have brought up the Tribe in front of them, and that the events of the next day were predestined by some divine power. Either way, the results were the same.

"Quite unlike that lousy Tribe of shitheads," Crowpaw muttered.

"Tribe?" Talon said. "You don't mean to say you met the Tribe of Rushing Water?"

"Oh, we sure did," Squirrelpaw said. "It was a truly awful experience."

"And was a cat named Stoneteller still in charge?!"

"Oh, yes."

"But this is terrible news!" Rock said. "What if he tries to complete the ritual?!"

Squirrelpaw scratched her head. "Ritual? Does that have anything to do with that Sharptooth character?"

Bird laughed. "Sharptooth? Oh, that's a good one!"

"What-"

"Do you want to see Sharptooth? I'll bring him out for you right now!"

Bird ran off into the depths of the mineshaft with a sudden liveliness. She returned with a large skull, similar to a cat's in shape, but not in size.

"That's Sharptooth!" Bird proclaimed. "He always likes meeting new visitors."

"You mean it's... dead?" Feathertail said.

"It's been dead for the last 30 years!" Talon exclaimed.

"... I think you have a lot of things to explain to us."

"Let's get started, then, shall we?"

* * *

><p>The true story of the Tribe began not with Stoneteller, but with a tragedy.<p>

The Tribe had spent most of their existence living near that mineshaft, as the climate there could be classified as 'livable'. However, it was prone to receiving great heaps of snow and bitter winds during the coldest of winters, and it was one such winter that would ultimately spell their end.

It was a bright day when it happened, and many of the Tribe members had left their dens to enjoy the sunlight. The Tribe was much bigger back then, but that was about to change.

A sudden shift. A great, hellish roar.

A massive wave of snow had broken loose from the mountain and rushed forward, burying everything in its wake. Anyone who hadn't been fortunate enough to be located far away from its path had been entombed in a frozen prison until they suffocated, never to be found again.

There were not many survivors. One of them was a brown, blue-eyed kitten whose parents had both died. When he found out that he was an orphan, he was noted for taking it surprisingly well.

The Tribe's attempts to rebuild were ultimately futile, as they lacked the population to ever reach their old numbers again. For the sake of tradition, however, they were determined to keep their old lifestyle up until the bitter end.

The brown, blue-eyed kitten also took this rather well.

His name was Stone, but he quickly became known as Stoneteller for all the stories he would tell. The Tribe did have its own mythos, but Stoneteller loved to expand on and invent his own twists and tales. He was not good at hunting, or any other practical task, but he quickly gained a devout following amongst the younger Tribe members, who took his additions to the Tribe's mythology very seriously.

Stoneteller also liked to play pranks. In his spare time, he would go out exploring, where he one day found a skull of a mountain lion buried in some frozen cave. With it, he would often scare the other children by using its shadow to make it seem as if the beast was alive and well.

The few adults saw this as harmless fun, and never bothered telling the children the truth of the matter.

As Stoneteller grew up, his stories, which at first seem disconnected and scattered, gradually moved toward a common theme.

The Tribe had been arrogant, ungrateful. For that, they had been punished.

A sacrifice was needed.

This slowly stopped being part of the stories he told, and moved into general rhetoric. He spoke with great furor of how their fathers and mothers had sinned, and how they needed to make up for that mistake. He spoke fondly of the divine, and thought that it would please them to move higher, closer to the sky.

Privately, he spoke of murder.

Talon had overhead a private lecture given to two of his closest followers.

He spoke of a prophecy, where they would be visited by a silver cat from afar. That would be the sign they needed to complete 'the ritual'.

The sacrifice he called for would be the Tribe itself.

Talon didn't get to warn the Tribe. He was caught and grievously wounded. Though he would eventually recover, Stoneteller took the opportunity to take the rest of the Tribe with him. The only Tribe members that stayed were two other older members, who had already questioned his motives.

From there, the former Tribe members did not know where he had went. Based on what the warriors knew, it would seem as if they had gone on to raid a human residence for non perishable food, to sustain themselves as they climbed far higher than they every should have, on what Stoneteller thought was holy ground.

Then they had met the warriors, and Stoneteller had found his silver cat.

* * *

><p>"That son of a bitch!" Squirrelpaw hissed.<p>

"Actually, his mother was quite nice..."

"So, it's come to this," Feathertail said.

Brambleclaw looked nervously at her. "What do you mean, Feathertail?"

"I'm going back for Stormfur," she said, without a trace of doubt.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea to me, Featherbrains," Tawnypelt snapped.

"It doesn't?"

"Don't play this stupid game with me," Tawnypelt growled. "We've already spend far too much time stuck in these damn mountains. We can't waste any more time going after your stupid brother, who couldn't even figure out that guy was bad news! Forget him! Our Clans should come first."

"Your Clans can come first, then," Feathertail said. "I'm sure Leopardstar will find a way to manage without me."

"The prophecy-"

"I don't care."

Crowpaw snickered at that one.

"Now, let's be reasonable here," Brambleclaw said weakly. "I mean- Feathertail, you can't just go rushing off there yourself, they could kill you, too!"

"I can and I will," Feathertail said. "If the alternative is knowing that I let my brother die without ever trying to save him-"

"Oh, please," Tawnypelt said. "You talk as if Stoneteller's a master killer, even though he probably couldn't manage to strangle a kitten by himself! I'm sure your precious brother can take care of himself. I mean, he's the reason we're even in this mess-"

"All of you, shut up," Squirrelpaw said.

The other warriors turned face her.

"The prophecy called for a group of warriors that would lead the Clans to a new home _as one. _If we were to disband, what would we be? How would we keep the Clans together? If we let one warrior go because he wasn't important enough, how would we command the respect of our peers, or our leaders?

If we let Stormfur go now, what comes next? If Tawnypelt were to injure herself, would we abandon her for the needs of expediency? If Brambleclaw were to fall ill, would we leave him for the sake of our Clans?

We need to stick together, for all of our sakes. We will go back and rescue Stormfur, even if it adds another day to our journey. Is that clear?"

"As rock," Tawnypelt snorted.

"Is that a 'no'?"

Evidently Squirrelpaw's speech had had some effect on her, for she answered, "This time, we'll go back for Stormfur, After that, no more interruptions."

"Good. We'll leave early next morning. Be ready."

Feathertail looked intently at Squirrelpaw as she left to make a bad for the night.

_Is that why Brambleclaw trusts her so easily?_

She let the thought slide, as the dire peril that Stormfur was in returned to fill her mind once again.

A peril that she was ready to put an end to, even at the cost of her own life...


End file.
